Second Soulmate
by tangle.of.ivy
Summary: At the academy Jim drags Bones along to meet his cousin Rachel, an advanced engineer student. As soon as he meets her, Bones knows he's screwed. But there's a problem. In a world where each woman is eventually drawn to her soulmate, Bones has already met his...& Rachel hasn't. So as the three of them join the Enterprise & go adventuring, Bones dreads the day she receives her Pull.
1. Chapter 1 - The Engineer

**CHAPTER 1: THE ENGINEER **

_Hello again! It's been a while since I've done a fic, and this will be my first multi-chapter one. There will be 6 parts and I'll probably post one chapter per week. _

_I've always adored the character of Bones/Doctor Leonard McCoy. His cynical sarcasm lifts my spirits and mirrors my own worldview. He can be grumpy, but underneath he's a southern gentleman, a genius doctor, a brave man, and a real softy. A man after my own heart!_

_Feel free to comment or send questions. No flames please. Other than that, let me know what you think! :D_

**Starfleet Academy**

"I should get paid if I'm going to have to babysit you." Bones grumbled halfheartedly as he struggled to keep up with his energetic friend.

They'd just completed Starfleet Academy's two week orientation process. And on their first afternoon off Jim decided to drag him out of his nice warm dorm, through campus to some unknown destination.

"C'mon, old man! At least we're not cooped up indoors anymore." said Jim with one of his crazy grins.

"It's raining." Bones deadpanned, not amused.

Jim waved his hand. "What's a little rain? Maybe it'll perk you up a bit."

Bones rolled his eyes. "Will you at least tell me where we're going?"

"We're going to see someone."

The doctor stopped short. "Who? I swear, Jim, if you're going to see that girl Daphne, or Dora, or whatever her name was… I did NOT sign up to be your chaperone!"

"Her name is Dani, and no. We're not going to see her. Besides," he smirked. "I don't need a chaperone when I go see Dani."

"Gross."

"Jealous?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Liar."

"_Not._ Is it Louisa Colbert from Administration?"

Jim scoffed. "That was weeks ago!"

"That was last week!"

"Whatever. She got Pulled."

Bones blinked. "To who?"

"Remember Frank from Space History 101?"

"_Him?_ Really?"

Jim laughed. "I know, right?"

The doctor snorted and avoided a gush of water coming from a broken gutter.

At some point in a woman's life she was "Pulled" to her soulmate. It could happen at any point in her life, but generally happened before the age of thirty. There were a variety of ways it could manifest. A com number popping into their head. Seeing a vision of the person. Being physically and irresistibly pulled to the person. Hearing the person's voice in their head. Their soulmate's name suddenly appearing on their skin. And many more.

When the two people finally made contact, there was a Settling (or some called it a Spark) that took place to confirm the connection. Sometimes it was a tingle or a warm sensation. Butterflies in the stomach, uncontrollable shaking, electric sparks, and a floaty feeling were also possible. Mates recited the first half of the binding vows at this point. Even with all this, the law said that a telepath had to confirm the validity of the Pull in order for it to be considered official. The second part of the bond would be cemented when they said the second part of the binding vows at their wedding.

From then on the bond between the mates would only strengthen over time. It could grow infinitely depending on the couple. Some couples developed the ability to sense the other's emotions, pain, or even thoughts. Though communicating coherently and intentionally via telepathy was rare unless their species was already predisposed to it.

The doctor hesitated for a moment until his curiosity overcame his uneasiness.

"What was the Pull?"

Jim's brow wrinkled. "I've heard a couple of different stories. Someone said that his com number appeared on her wrist and she called him over and over until his com started to heat up and he finally answered it right in the middle of class. Apparently the professor wasn't too happy about it. But another group said that it was a temporary telepathic link while he was taking an important placement test. She heard him furiously trying to decide if the answer was A or D and she ran halfway across campus to tell him that the answer was actually B!"

The two men laughed.

Bones shook his head. "Still, _Frank_. I hope he grows up in a hurry."

Jim nodded. "He hasn't been to a party since. I saw him in the library the other day filling out internship applications."

The doctor raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Well good for him."

The rain was letting up, but the cold wind was getting stronger.

"Now for the love of God, tell me where we're going!" he growled, frustrated, as he tugged his collar up against the stinging drops..

"We're going to see an engineer."

"Really?" Bones smirked. "I didn't think you got along with technology too much at the moment. This morning you had an argument with the coffee pot."

"Ha ha. Hilarious." the younger man grumbled. "In here."

He led them into one of the dorms and took the elevator up to the fourth floor. Jim headed down one hallway and then another, checking the numbers on the doors. Finally he stopped in front of 417.

"Do they know we're coming?" Bones asked, a bit late. Jim had already knocked.

"Nope."

"Brilliant." Bones grumbled.

There was a bang from inside and the sound of muffled cursing. Then the door flew open and a rather grumpy looking young woman stood on one leg. She was leaning against the door jam as she clutched at her other foot, which she'd obviously just stubbed. She already had her mouth open for another curse, but froze when she caught sight of Jim. Her mouth fell open in surprise.

"Hey, Rache! As graceful as ever I see." said Jim with a grin.

The comment seemed to startle the woman out of her stupor. She lunged for Jim and Bones took a hasty step forward, already used to women's affinity for wanting to punch Jim in the face. But instead she threw her arms around his neck in a bear hug. Jim laughed and hugged her back, holding her up off the floor because of their height differences.

"Jim the Daredevil! As I live and breathe! What the HELL are you doing here?!" the woman laughed as she let go.

"I-" Jim started to say, but was interrupted.

"Wait!" The woman seemed to take in his red cadets uniform for the first time. She frowned. "James Tiberius Kirk, did you swipe a uniform just to sneak in here to see me?"

"You've a mighty fine opinion of yourself if you think I came all this way just to see you." Jim joked, earning himself a punch on the arm from her. Bones smirked at that. "As a matter of fact, I signed up."

The woman blinked. "You joined Starfleet?"

"Yep!"

There was a pause as she seemed to process this. Then her eyes narrowed and Bones took an instinctive step away from Jim so as to be out of the line of fire.

"You idiot!" She lunged and caught him in a headlock, causing Jim to squawk indignantly. "I've been at you for years and years to sign up with me! Then I finally give up and leave on my own only for you to show up out of the blue a year later!"

"Ow! Ow! Watch the hair!" Jim struggled, but she merely gave him a noogie that mussed up his hair even more and caused Bones to laugh out loud.

Noticing him for the first time, the woman let go of Jim and turned to face the doctor. She was several inches shorter than his 6'1" frame, but she scrutinized his face with open curiosity before thrusting her hand out for him to shake.

"I'm Rachel Ryanns. Second year Advanced Engineering. An' this lump," she nudged Jim with her toe as he tried to flatten his hair. "Is my crazy cousin."

Bones tried to ignore a small sense of relief as he shook her hand.

"Doctor Leonard McCoy." he said.

"And who's beloved pet did you run over to get stuck babysitting this guy?" she asked.

Bones grinned pointedly at Jim. "See! I told you it was babysitting. I'm gonna have to set an hourly rate."

"Who would pay it?" Jim asked.

The Doctor ticked off on his fingers, "Captain Pike, Professor Jones, that barista you scandalized at the coffee shop yesterday, the dean of the academy-"

"Your mom." Rachel added. "My mom. Heck, even I'd pay you in cookies to keep him from making too big a mess on campus."

They laughed as Jim put a hand over his heart, pretending to look hurt.

"I'm wounded!" he cried.

"Drama queen." snarked Rachel, elbowing him in the gut. Bones caught sight of something on the sleeve of her white shirt as she did so.

"Is that blood?" he asked.

Rachel glanced at her wrist. "Oh, probably. I think I might have caught it on something in the lab."

Bones healer instincts weren't going to let her brush it off. Assuming his doctor persona he took her wrist and gently rolled up the sleeve. It was a graze more than a cut, but it was still several inches long and seemed to have bled a bit before starting to scab.

"What materials were you working with?" he asked, frowning as he examined the depth of the abrasion.

"Mostly boridium power generators. We were given some really busted up ones and are supposed to be diagnosing potential issues and recalibrating them before the assignment date on Wednesday."

Bones frowned. "Did you wash this afterwards?"

"I washed my hands, but I was in a hurry to submit my notes for the day. I was just finishing that up when you knocked."

Leonard picked a tiny piece of debris out of the wound and carefully wiped away a smudge of grease. "If you're wearing rolled up or short sleeves you need to wash all the way up your arms. I see this isn't a one time thing either." he scolded, pointing to several other scars littering her fingers, hand, and arm. "Being danger prone apparently runs in the family." He complained. "You're in Starfleet now. You won't last a month in space with all of those alien diseases and germs if you don't follow basic hygienic practices. Or you'll get an infection from a graze like this and wash out before you even step foot on a starship."

"Ouch, Bones. Way to give a girl a bad first impression." Jim said with a wince.

The doctor opened his mouth to snap back but was interrupted.

"No, no. He's right." Both men blinked at her. "I know I need to be more careful. Bad habits are hard to break." She traced an old scar with a fingertip. "I just get so zoned into a project that I usually forget to eat, let alone do first aid. But I've dreamed about being a Starfleet Engineer since I was a kid. I don't want to miss out on that because I was too scatterbrained to take care of myself."

Bones raised an eyebrow approvingly. It looked like the female cousin was much more responsible and reasonable than her male counterpart. On top of that, she didn't seem at all put off by his grumpy snappishness.

"Since you've waited this long to clean it, I'd recommend a trip to the nurse just to make sure nothing got in there in the meantime."

Jim rolled his eyes. "Stop pestering her! You're-"

Rachel reached up and grabbed him by the ear turning his sentence into a squawk.

"You need to be more respectful to your elders." she chastised.

"First of all, that hurts! Second, you're only six months older than me!" complained her victim.

Bones tilted his head back and laughed til' his eyes watered. Wiping the moisture away he grinned at the engineer.

"I like you."

She smiled, letting go of Jim's ear. "Mutual. So what do you think? Between us do you think we can keep this reckless goof alive til he graduates?"

Leonard chuckled as Jim rubbed his bright red ear looking disgruntled.

"It'll take a miracle, darlin'. But we'll see."

Rachel's cheeks flushed a bit before turning back to her cousin.

"So besides ruining the few hours of peace and quiet I get in this madhouse, what're you doin' here?"

Jim pouted. "I just wanted to say hi, let you know I was here, and see if you wanted to get lunch with us this weekend."

"What time?"

"Maybe about eleven on Saturday."

Rachel tapped at the watch-like gadget strapped to her left wrist. A holographic calendar appeared.

"Sure. My study group doesn't meet until three. So that'll be fine. Meet me at the west end of campus by the art sculpture. There's a great Bajoran cafe just a few blocks away."

"Great! We'll see ya then." said Jim giving her a quick peck on the temple. "C'mon, Bones. All this talk of food has made me hungry."

The doctor rolled his eyes. "Of course it has." He turned back to Rachel. "Well, it was nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." she said before turning back to her door.

Bones started to go after Jim, then stopped. He cleared his throat.

"Don't you have somewhere…"

"Easy, Doc." Rachel said, leaning around the doorway and pulling out a pair of boots. "I'm headed off to the nurse. I just didn't want to walk through puddles in my socks."

Bones chuckled as she hopped up and down on one foot, trying to get the shoe on. He finally offered her an arm and she leaned against it gratefully. Her footwear sorted, she straightened up, and gave a salute.

"Request permission to follow doctor's orders, sir!"

Leonard laughed. "Granted. But don't you need a coat?"

Rachel waved a hand. "I don't get cold easy. See ya later, doc." She flashed him a brilliant smile and headed off down the hallway.

Bones felt his heart give a kick and his own smile slowly melted off his face. He watched the long end of her ponytail swish back and forth across her back until she was out of sight around the corner.

"I am so screwed." he mumbled.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud, obnoxious voice.

"Earth to Bones! C'mon! There's a giant pile of chicken wings with my name on them!"


	2. Chapter 2 - Dammit Jim!

**CHAPTER 2: Dammit Jim!**

**Five years later**

**(2 years after the events of the first movie)**

At least Bones had gotten to chew Spock out for messing up the terrain scans. Sure the alien bases had been shielded, but wasn't the annoyingly logical vulcan supposed to _think of these things?_

Apparently not! The Enterprise had gotten hacked and was basically dead in the water (or dead in space in this case). Scotty, with Chekov's help, was trying desperately to keep the hackers from gaining access to the ship's weapons system while a landing party went down to find the source of the problem. Jim assigned himself to lead the team, of course. Which meant Bones and Spock had to go along to keep him alive. The fourth member of their team was none other than Scotty's second in command, the newly promoted Lieutenant Commander Rachel Ryanns. She was the one tasked with stopping the hackers by breaking into their own computer system.

True to form, they'd hardly penetrated the compound before Jim decided that a distraction was necessary. Off he ran with Sock jogging after him to make sure he didn't get himself killed. Bones muttered curses under his breath as he and Rachel paused at each corner to listen for alien soldiers. The sound of several explosions told them that Jim was having a little too much fun. They decided to speed up before the captain accidentally blew up something important. Like the life support systems…

They finally found the main electrical room and Bones covered the door while Rachel tapped frantically away at a screen.

"Can you understand any of that gibberish?" the doctor asked, glancing at the symbols and numbers on the screen."

"Why doc, are you doubting my awesome skills?" asked Rachel without slowing a bit. Her eyes were glued to the screen. Every now and then she'd unplug or hotwire a cord. Sirens started blazing somewhere nearby.

"Hurry up, darlin'. I think the locals may be-"

A burst of sparks right beside his head was his only warning. The next moment the air was filled with phaser shots as Bones ducked behind a console. He returned fire and managed to keep the group of alien soldiers from fully storming the room. They weren't wearing any body armor so they seemed reluctant to storm the room head on. They chirped and snorted to each other through their short, elephant-like noses. Time was running short.

"We gotta get out of here!" he yelled over the comotion.

"Just one more minute!" said Rachel. She was attaching what looked to him like random computer chips and other bits to a hard drive. "I've almost broken their control over the Enterprise, but there's something else here that-" Another explosion not too far away cut her off.

"We don't _have_ another minute!" Bones said taking a shot that caused one of the soldiers to duck and stumble. Bones had him dead to rights as he aimed his phaser.

"NO!" Rachel seized his arm and the shot went wide. The soldier crawled back behind the doorway.

"Are you crazy?!" Bones yelled. "They're trying to kill us!"

"It's not them! Don't kill them!"

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?!" he asked. Ducking to avoid a new volley. He glanced at Rachel's face and paused. She'd shown no sign of fear or concern during the mission, but now her face was scared and unsettled. Her eyes were pleading as she met his gaze.

"Just keep them back for a few more seconds! Stun them if you have to. But _don't_ kill them!" Without any more explanation she threw herself back at the main computer, her fingers seeming to move faster than humanly possible.

Bones cursed, but set his phaser to stun. He sent several more shots towards the door, but the soldiers were getting bolder. Two dove through the door and took up positions behind a workstation. The whole room shook and more and more alarms blared. The lights flickered and half of them went out. He didn't dare look back to check the engineer's progress. He kept shooting until a lucky shot from one of the soldiers hit his phaser, burning his hand in the process.

Cussing up a storm, he clutched his hand to his chest.

"Rachel, we're out of time!" he yelled.

"Just one moooooore...got it!"

Half of the alarms suddenly ceased and Bones heard the clattering of metal hitting stone. The soldiers had fallen silent.

"We've got to go!" he said, grabbing hold of the lieutenant commander's arm.

"Wait. The Enterprise is still stuck." She stabbed a finger at a key and the whole screen went blank. "There!" Flashing a huge grin at the doctor, she brushed off her hands and stood.

Bones yanked her back down behind the console.

"Are you crazy?!" he squawked.

"Relax. It's all right. Look."

Bones glanced around the corner at the soldiers. To his surprise they had all dropped their weapons and were staring dumbfounded at each other. He was still confused until he noticed the open metal ankle cuffs lying on the ground next to each of them. He blanched.

"Slave bands?"

Rachel walked out from behind the console and approached the aliens.

"Yeah. I found the controls while I was searching through the database. They don't want to hurt us. They were just following orders." She helped one of the soldiers to their feet. They stared at her in amazement. Digging through a pocket, she pulled out a translator and spoke into it. "We don't want to hurt you. You're free now. Gather your people and get out of here while you can." Her words were translated into the alien's native tongue and broadcast through the device. The soldiers began bowing and chirping at her with obvious gratitude. Rachel smiled, but shooed them away, telling them again to hurry.

Outside, they could hear the sounds of the ruling alien race rushing around madly as the Enterprise started returning fire _at last _with her newly freed weapons system. Bones stood and went to join the engineer, staring at her in a mixture of awe and horror.

"They were being controlled. They were peaceful...and I almost _killed _them." he choked out. The doctor part of him was appalled. He'd accepted that being in Starfleet would sometimes force him to ignore his vow to "do no harm" out of self-preservation and necessity. But the idea that he very nearly took the lives of innocents… No, not _just _innocents. Innocents that were enslaved and forced to fight in dangerous situations completely against their own will. Well, the thought sickened him to the core.

Rachel grabbed his uninjured hand and squeezed it, moving so that he had to look her in the eye. "It **wasn't **your fault. You didn't know. You were protecting us. And nothin' happened. It turned out okay."

"Yeah. But if…"

"No. Stop. You can '_what if_' yourself into the grave and it won't do anyone any good. Right now we have to get out of here and find the others." She held his gaze until she saw him start to accept her point. Reaching up, she cupped his cheek in her cool hand. He stared at her, unable to look away. "You're the most _doctor_ doctor I've ever met." She said earnestly, smiling as he furrowed his brow. Then, still holding his hand, she started tugging him towards the door. He followed automatically, letting himself get slightly distracted by the feeling of her hand gripping his as if it were the most natural thing in the world. But after a minute he shook his head and forced himself to focus. They weren't out of the woods yet.

"I hope they haven't left without us." Rachel said. "I had to use the pieces of my communicator to help me get into the system. So we have no way to contact the Enterprise on our own."

"Fantastic." he grumbled.

Suddenly the far end of the corridor they'd just entered exploded, debris and shrapnel flying everywhere. Bones instinctively pressed Rachel against the wall, shielding her with his body until things finally stopped moving. He pulled back and immediately started examining her for injuries. They were both coated in dust, so it wasn't easy. She coughed.

"Use your shirt to cover your mouth." he instructed as he did the same. "Let's minimize the amount of crud we get into our lungs." He was still trying to examine her, but she was focused on him.

"You're bleeding." Rolling her sleeve until the clean interior was exposed, she gently wiped at a place near his right eyebrow. He winced, noticing the sting for the first time. Now that he took stock, he realized that the burn on his hand was throbbing painfully, which at least meant it was less than a 3rd degree. But he soon forgot about it as he realized how close Rachel's face was to his. She was standing on tiptoe to get a better look at the cut and her chest brushed against his. He swallowed.

A moaning sound made them both jump. Bones realized that one of his arms was still around her waist from when he'd pressed her against the wall. Reluctantly, he removed it. Feeling vulnerable without his phaser he reached down and picked up a broken piece of pipe.

"Reduced to a caveman with a club." he grumbled. Rachel snorted.

Quietly they picked their way down the corridor, climbing carefully over the rubble. The noise came again.

Rachel froze. "Oh no." she whispered. Then she rushed forward before Bones could stop her. Kneeling down, she pushed away a section of the ceiling to reveal one of the slave aliens. Her right arm and leg were trapped under a large section of the stone wall that had collapsed. The doctor hurried over to assess the damage. As he was examining the trapped limbs Rachel spoke calmingly into her translator, telling the woman that they were going to help her. Bones noted the discolored skin on the creature's ankle where the cuff used to be.

"The arm and leg are not completely crushed yet. But we need to get this off of her." he said.

"No shit, Sherlock." she snarked. Pressing her shoulder against the stone she gave an experimental push. It didn't move. "I'm not sure that even the two of us together could move this stupid thing. We need more muscle."

"Way to boost a man's ego, darlin'." he said, though he privately agreed with her.

Voices were suddenly heard on the other side of the rock pile. Two very _familiar_ voices. Rachel grinned.

"_Oh gosh!_ If only there were some lunkheaded, buff, danger addicted idiots that could help us in this our most desperate hour!" she called with over the top dramatics. "But woe is us! We're doomed to die in this dust pile for want of a few good men! The universe is so cruel and-"

"_Okay_, okay! We're coming!" called Jim, laughing as he and Spock scrambled toward them over the rubble. "Geesh! And you call _me_ a drama queen."

"I was channeling my inner Tiberius. Now get your asses over here and do something useful."

"Ouch."

Jim saw their problem immediately. He and Spock moved into position and with a lot of sweat and swearing, the four of them were able to free the alien woman. She bugled in pain, but held still for the procedure. Once she was free, Bones gave her another speedy examination.

"There's no way she can walk out of here on her own. Spock, did you pass any of her kind on your way here? If we can flag one or more of them down then they can get her out of here."

"Negative, doctor. Once the slave bands dropped off...an event I assume was generated by the lieutenant commander?" Rachel inclined her head with a smile. "The rest of her species turned on their oppressors and fought for their freedom. They won easily, but during the altercation, one of the largest tanks of methane was breached. Because of the explosions set off by the captain, we were unable to close the airtight doors that would've contained the leek. This prompted the rest of her kind to gather their numbers and flee. I believe they must have been the original inhabitants of this planet, for they were able to leave the compound and make their way across the terrain without any apparent discomfort."

"Wait a minute! So how long do we have before this place blows sky high?!" Bones demanded.

"According to my calculations, from the moment the methane began to leak, there was approximately nine minutes and twenty seconds before ignition."

Rachel looked at him in alarm. "And how long ago was that?!"

"Six minutes and forty-one seconds ago."

"And you're just telling us this _now_?!" Bones snapped. "There's nothing for it. We'll have to take her with us. Jimmy, our communicator was sacrificed for the greater good. Call Scotty and tell him to _get us the hell out of here!_"

Jim was already on it.

"Kirk to Enterprise. Five to beam up. And make it snappy!"

There was only a garbled, staticy reply. Jim stared at the device in alarm.

"Well, **shit.**"

Bones swore too. "C'mon. Let's get her up."

He and Rachel wrapped the woman's arms around their necks and hauled her to her feet. The move was so painful that she bellowed in agony, though she didn't fight them.

"Where's the ship bay?"

Jim swallowed. "Uh...that's where the gas leak is."

"Are you _kidding me?!_ Spock, how long can we survive outside in this atmosphere?"

"Approximately two minutes and thirty seconds for humans and four minutes and seven seconds for vulcans."

"What about-"

A distant explosion caused them all to freeze. Then there came another. And another. Each one much closer than the last.

"Run!"

"Logically that won't help seeing as we can't-"

"_Shut up and run!_"

They made it down one corridor and then another. No one really had any idea what they were looking for, but they kept going. Rachel was the first one to speak halfway down the third hallway.

"Jim, did you fart?"

"She who smelt it, dealt it." he panted.

"In that case, does anyone else smell gas?" she asked.

As soon as she said it Bones noticed it too.

"All right, that's it! We need to get out of here! Rachel, ask her where the nearest exit-"

"Wait!" she cried.

They all froze as the familiar swirls of light began to sluggishly spin around them. It seemed to be taking much longer than usual.

"What's taking so long?" Jim asked.

Then they heard one last explosion. They all turned to see a wall of fire rushing down the corridor straight at them. There was nowhere to go. Bones instinctively stumbled backwards…

...and tumbled off the beaming platform to land painfully at the feet of Scotty who was looking rather proud of himself.

"Welcome back, everyone!"

"Hi boss! Nice timing!" Rachel panted.

Jim whooped. "Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!" He whooped again and gave Rachel and a bemused Spock high-fives.

Bones sat up. Three medics were already taking charge of the obviously injured alien woman. Rachel had also fallen, though she'd managed to stay on the platform. Panting heavily she flopped onto her back with her arms spread dramatically. Bones automatically did a visual search for any additional injuries. Finding none, there was nothing to distract him from his anger, which in the absence of fear, was fueled by his remaining adrenaline.

"DAMMIT, JIM! I'M A DOCTOR NOT A CHAR-BROILED, HUMAN STEAK!"

He ranted all the way down to the medical wing where they got their various injuries checked out, Rachel laughing at them the entire way.

Later that evening, Bones was sitting in a deserted officers lounge staring into his glass of bourbon. He wasn't really in the mood to drink, but he'd grabbed it out of habit. His hand was bandaged and a healing cream was finishing its work on the cut over his eye. Hearing the door open he glanced over and smiled. Rachel came in, her hair wet from showering and looking tired, but otherwise healthy. She carried a plate of cookies, her favorite comfort food. He knew she'd intentionally sought him out because snickerdoodles were his personal favorite. He got a warm feeling in his chest at the thought that she preferred to spend her off duty time with him out of everyone. Sitting next to him she propped her feet up on a nearby chair with a sigh. Neither felt the need to break the comfortable silence for a long while. They both munched on the cookies and made a conscious effort to relax their stiff muscles. Rachel was the first one to speak.

"So how's Rosula doing?" she asked, referring to their new alien friend.

Bones brushed cookie crumbs off his arm. "Healing nicely. She should be back to normal in a few days. We offered to return her to her people at that point, but she asked if she could go with us. She wants to get to a space port so that she can go looking for her children that were sold off-planet a few seasons ago."

Rachel looked sad. "That's horrible. I hope she finds them. Couldn't we maybe do some digging through the databases we have access to to try and find them."

Bones gave a crooked smile. "Our resident pain-in-the-ass vulcan is already on it. That man actually does have a heart as well as a brain."

She smiled. "Could say the same thing about you, Doc."

"Me? Nah. I'm a heartless grump, remember."

"A total lie, and you know it."

He just grunted and took a bite of his cookie.

They were quiet for another couple of minutes. Then Rachel sighed happily.

"We did a good day's work." she said.

The doctor smiled in spite of himself. "Yeah. We did, darlin'."

They sat there in contented comradery for a long time before going to bed.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Challenge

_**A slightly shorter chapter, but a funny one. :) If you know what movie I got the idea of the challenge from, let me know! **_

**CHAPTER 3: The Challenge**

**Enterprise Mess Hall **

"I just don't get what she sees in him! I mean, the guy wears socks with sandals on shore leave! Of course, it's her choice and I wouldn't want her to do something she didn't want to. But come on! I'm clearly the better catch!"

Bones checked his watch. Jim had been on a roll for the past thirteen minutes. If he'd known he'd have to listen to his captain complain and boast about his love life he'd have eaten in his office. But noooooo… He had to try and be sociable. And if he'd been secretly hoping to see a certain lieutenant commander, then that was his business.

"I'd already gotten us tickets to the Cordad concert!"

Bones sighed. If he hadn't known that Jim actually really liked this girl and that this was his way of processing his hurt the doctor would've cut him off a long time ago. As it was, his generosity was wearing thin. He glanced at Uhura, Spock, and Sulu. Sulu was reading something on his pad, not listening to a word. Uhura was looking more and more annoyed as she attempted to ignore the captain. And Spock was looking at the captain with a surprised expression, like he was trying to figure out how Jim was managing to draw breath.

Finally Leonard spotted Rachel, Scotty, and Chekov come in and collect trays of food. He waved them down.

"Help! Help! Rache, I beg you! Please save me from you delusional, deranged, egotistical cousin before I drown him in his own soup!"

"_Hey!_" Jim objected. Then gave a chirp of pain as Rachel doinked him on the head with her spoon.

"Are you disturbing the peace again?" she asked Jim as she took a seat next to Bones (a fact that pleased him immensely).

"**No! ** They're just jealous." Jim whined. And he was off, repeating many of the things he'd been saying for the last quarter of an hour.

Rachel only let him get about four minutes into his rant before cutting him off.

"If you're really 'all that', cuz, why don't you prove it?"

Jim scoffed. "I don't need to prove it."

"So it's all bluff? You talk a big game but can't back it up?" she taunted.

"Heck no! But who's gonna challenge me?"

Rachel shrugged nonchalantly. "Me, of course."

Jim smirked. "Bring it on, grease monkey."

"Okay. Chekov, would you go over to the kitchen and ask Ethel for two identical bottles of the hot stuff? She'll know what you mean."

The young navigator obediently hopped up and went over to the counter.

"So what does the winner get?" Jim asked.

"The pleasure of being right?"

"That's no fun!"

She shrugged. "Okay then. If I win then you have to publicly admit to being a blowhard and you have to hand deliver coffee to the entire engineering team every day for a month."

"Fine. But _when_ I win, you have to give me a shoulder massage every day for a month AND you tell your mom that it was actually _you_ that spilled grape juice all over her white couch when we were nine!"

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yep! Take it or leave it!"

"Fine. But then you have to admit that you cheat at Monopoly."

"I do _not _cheat...every time. Okay, then you have to go paintballing with me next time we have shore leave."

"When _I _win you have to help me paint my apartment."

"All right, you two. That's enough." said Scotty. "You'll start losin' track if you add too much more ta that list."

Chekov came back with two, unopened, twelve oz bottles of hot sauce. He placed one in front of each of them and sat back down.

Rachel picked hers up. "All right. Contest rules. Fastest person to drain the entire bottle wins. No spitting. No drinking or eating anything with it to wash it down. Sulu, will you be the ref?"

The helmsman shrugged. "Sure."

"Is he impartial enough for you, Jim."

"Sure. It'll be pretty obvious when I win anyway."

Rachel just shrugged. "Maybe. I'll go first so you know what time you have to beat."

Bones had remained silent during the whole exchange, but now he leaned forward in interest. Sulu set a timer on his pad as Rachel unwrapped the plastic from the bottle and unscrewed the lid.

"Ready? Set? Go." said Sulu.

Rachel drank, wincing at the taste. After a few seconds she stopped and pulled a face, dry swallowing several times before drinking again.

"Fifteen seconds." said Sulu.

She stopped again and brought her fist to her lips as she focused on swallowing. Then she began again.

"Twenty seconds."

Two more mouthfuls and the engineer slammed the bottle down on the table. Sulu stopped the timer, then checked the bottle to make sure it was all gone.

"Official time is 24.76 seconds." he declared.

Rachel wiped moisture from the corners of her eyes and fanned herself with a hand.

"Whooohoooo! That's got some kick to it!" she panted. "All right Jimmy. Beat that!"

Jim unscrewed his own lid. "Okay, that was a little bit impressive. 'Til I do it under twenty." He tossed the cap over his shoulder. "Time _**me**_!"

Bones rolled his eyes.

Uhura snorted. "You know what they say about 'pride before the fall'."

"I must have missed the part where the rules apply to me." Jim snarked.

The doctor snorted. "Typical."

"Are you stalling?" Rachel asked.

"Nah. Sulu, whenever you're ready."

"Ready? Set? Go."

Jim had barely taken the first sip when his face screwed up like he'd swallowed a lemon. He tried to take a larger swallow and had to stop and cough. He tried again and only got two more sips in before stopping to pant and swear.

"Damn it, that's HOT!" he gasped.

Rachel leaned back calmly in her chair with her arms crossed. "You getting a little warm, Jimmy? Cuz there's no shame in calling it quits if it's too much for ya."

"Shut up." he coughed, trying to take another swallow. He coughed again, causing some to dribble onto his shirt.

"Hey Sulu, does that count as spitting it out?" Bones asked with a shit eating grin.

"That's a warning, captain. Next time it's a disqualification." said Sulu. "Fifteen seconds."

Jim panted and took a larger swallow then had to stop and fight not to gag. His eyes were streaming so much that he could hardly keep them open. Uhura was openly laughing and everyone else was trying and failing to suppress their own mirth.

"Twenty seconds."

The captain was not even halfway through the bottle.

Spock leaned over and said quietly to Bones and Rachel, "The captain is producing some impressive sounds quite a ways above the human hearing spectrum. It's extremely fascinating."

Bones snorted, choking on the water he'd just taken a swig of.

"What kind of sounds?" Rachel asked.

"I believe they fall into the range of what would be considered whimpers with occasional forays into the range of whines."

At this Rachel and Bones both cracked up laughing. As she gasped, trying to get her breath back, she leaned her forehead against the doctor's shoulder. He felt his ears go red at the contact.

"Twenty-five seconds."

Jim breathed heavily and tried for one more mouthful but just couldn't do it. He spat into his glass and howled in pain.

"**Aaaaaahhhh! My mouth is on fire! Yoooooow!**" He jumped up, knocking over his chair, and stumbled as fast as he could over to the kitchen counter where he begged Ethel for a glass of milk. Among other things he offered her his first born child as he pleaded for speed.

The entire table erupted in laughter. Even Spock gave a rare smile of amusement. Rachel grinned and crossed her arms proudly, leaning back in her chair.

"Woman, how _do_ you do that?!" Uhura asked wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

Rachel picked up her empty bottle and twirled it in her fingers.

"Anyone here could've done it. It's actually pretty easy...if you replace yours with _tomato juice._"

Everyone's mouth fell open.

"**WHAT?!**"

Then an even larger burst of laughter made the mess hall echo. Scotty was slapping the table and Sulu knocked his fork to the floor as he gripped his aching stomach.

Bones tried to speak through his convulsions. "Hooooow?!"

In answer, Rachel waved cheekily at Ethel, who winked at her over Jim's shoulder. Then she reached over and fistbumped Chekov. Everyone stared at the dorky teenager.

"I knew Jim would never suspect Pavel of anything. He thinks he's too innocent."

"Dey never suspect de Russian." said Chekov, making Bones scoff.

"I don't know about that, kid. But remind me to team up with you if Jim ever triggers that prank war he keeps threatening."

"Are you gonner tell the captain?" Scotty asked.

"_Eventually…_"

That set off another round of chuckles that turned into full on laughter as Jim came back with his glass, panting, and sporting an impressive milk mustache.

In the midst of it all the merriment, Bones looked at Lieutenant Commander Ryanns and felt his heart flutter like a damn teenage girl's. He felt warm and had to resist the temptation to pull her into a bear hug. Mentally he fought back the wave of fondness that washed over him. "Fondness" was the most he'd admit to, and he was trying to stick to that story even in his own head...rather unsuccessfully.


	4. Chapter 4 - Not Again!

**CHAPTER 4: Not Again!**

**Enterprise Medbay**

It was nearly the end of Alpha shift when Lieutenant Commander Ryanns wandered into the medbay, looking extremely chagrined. Her shoulder was wrapped in a slightly greasy towel, but the blood still soaked through in one or two places. The nurse at the front desk took one look at her and sighed.

"You know this is the third time in two weeks."

Rachel looked abashed and shrugged her shoulder, wincing as she accidentally used her injured one.

"It was an accident."

"It always is. You picked a bad day for it though. He's already in a mood."

"Uh-oh. What now?"

"Oh, that Grazerite flu that the landing party accidentally brought back with them last week still managed to spread. He's been swamped with cases for the past 48 hours. It's a simple cure, just a series of two hypos. But the purple mucus that streams from the patient's nostrils is almost impossible to scrub out of the linens and floor. Then to top it off, the captain managed to skip his physical today. Doctor McCoy even recruited Commander Spock to help, but he eluded them both."

"Dammit, Jim! I'm gonna have to coordinate my injuries with him so that they don't clash with his 'Piss Off Bones Days'."

At that moment they both heard some loud swearing in a Georgian accent coming from the far end of the medbay.

"Uhhh, I'll just let myself in. You don't need to… Well, feel free not mention I'm back there until he's less overwhelmed."

"You might be there a while."

"Eh. That's fine. Scotty gave me the rest of the shift off."

She headed to the left and through one of the smaller, intensive care wings to the office along the back wall. Opening it, she winced. Not just one, but four partially drunk, cold coffee cups littered the desk. The fact that Bones hadn't had his full daily dose of caffeine wasn't a good sign. Trying not to strain her injured shoulder, she stretched her sore back with a sigh. Plopping down in Leonard's desk chair she propped her feet up on a short filing cabinet nearby. Seeing a plate with a partially eaten sandwich she grinned and snatched it up. She hadn't bothered to take a lunch break that morning and she was famished. Munching away she gazed around at the familiar clutter. An examination table with a broken motor sat against one wall, but piles of paperwork and pads covered the surface. Stacks of binders and boxes were strewn everywhere. A couch in the corner where the doctor sometimes allowed himself brief catnaps was mostly clear except for a tub of empty hypos. Turning back to the desk, Rachel smiled at the framed picture of a redheaded girl of about ten. She had her father's hazel-green eyes and a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. The engineer always felt mixed emotions when she saw the picture. It was a screenshot from one of the few video calls Leonard was allotted. The girl's mother apparently didn't make it a priority to send pictures to her ex. Rachel felt a familiar twinge of anger at the woman and sympathy for Bones.

Leaning her head back she exhaled and closed her eyes. She'd almost dozed off before she heard the door opening. There was an irritated sigh.

"You're gonna get a crick in your neck. You've gotten crumbs all over my desk. And you're getting blood on my chair." came the string of the wry complaints.

Rachel smiled and opened her eyes without moving..

"Too comfy for the first. Don't care about the second. And as for the third, I made sure the towel was secure."

Bones grumbled under his breath as he cleared off the examination table and gestured for her to take a seat. She hopped up with some difficulty. She wasn't about to admit it to him, but her shoulder was starting to get stiff and sore. His warm hand on her elbow steadied her.

"So what the hell have you done to yourself this time?" he growled, gathering his tools. He carefully removed the towel and swore under his breath. "Dammit, woman! You and your cousin are deliberately trying to give me a stroke today!"

"Sorry, Doc," she said sincerely. "I know I didn't pick a good time."

He huffed. "You've been getting the gossip from my nurses again?"

"I'll never tell." she said with a smile, then winced as he began to clean the gash.

The doctor continued to mutter darkly under his breath as he worked, but his hands were as gentle as ever. In fact, Rachel had to try not to dwell on the feeling of his hands on her skin and his warm breath on her neck. The thought crossed her mind that she was lucky the exam table wasn't working or the sensors would have shown her heartbeat jumping around like a kangaroo. Swallowing, she looked for something to distract herself.

As she cast around for something to say she started to notice something about Bones' mood. He still looked irritated, but there was a melancholy tiredness underneath it that troubled her. She hadn't seen him for a few days and wondered how long this had been going on.

As he administered a final hypo and wrapped up what was left of the gash, Rachel placed a hand over his to stop him. He paused but didn't meet her eyes.

"Leonard, what's wrong?" she asked. She hardly ever called him that.

"Nothing, darlin'." he muttered, looking very tired all of a sudden.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, trying not to let herself get distracted by the endearment that always seemed to make her blush. But otherwise she didn't move.

Finally Bones moved to smooth the last piece of medical tape into place and began cleaning up.

"Let's just say that clash with the Parkled on Tuesday was very badly timed." She saw him glance at the photograph and put two and two together.

"Something about Joanna?"

He nodded.

"I was supposed to have a video call with her that day. She just won an award at her school for some story she submitted to a contest."

"Oh! She **did **submit it! The last time I messaged her she was still trying to decide. She was nervous about other people reading her writing. I told her to go for it. I'm so glad she did!"

Bones actually smiled at her. "So it was you that convinced her. Thanks for that. She doesn't always count old dad's opinion as unbiased enough."

"But can't you just reschedule the call?" she asked.

Bones' smile turned into a scowl. "Amber wouldn't allow it. She gave some bullshit excuse about being too busy and Joanna needing to study for a test. When I know for a _fact _that she doesn't have another test for at least a month because they just did a round of standardized exams last week. So I have to wait until next month's call and I don't know if we'll be in range at that point."

Rachel scowled too. "No offense, and I usually hate using this word to describe someone, but your ex is a _bitch_!"

Leonard snorted, humorously. "That's putting it mildly."

As always, Rachel was tempted to ask him about his past marriage. But she didn't. First of all, she didn't think she could remain as outwardly impartial as she'd like to appear. Secondly, it was extremely rare for a Pull to end in divorce, but when it happened it was always extremely painful to both parties. Some couples even went mad when their bond was broken. Bones dealt with it by escaping the planet entirely and devoting himself to his work. Amber apparently dealt with it by spending his money and being as nasty as humanly possible.

Bones moved over to sit at his desk and pulled up Rachel's records on his screen. He was quiet as he added the new information. She swung her legs back and forth, watching him in silence for a while. Eventually she got off the table and went to stand behind him. She put her arms around his neck, her head resting on top of his. Not saying anything, just trying to show she was there for him. His muscles noticeably relaxed. He leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. They stayed that way for several long minutes.

Finally he reached up and squeezed one of her hands with his. Then he sat straight again and pointed to the screen.

"This is the third time in fifteen days. So don't take this the wrong way darlin', but don't come back for anything other than a social call for a while. Otherwise I'll have to start calling your competency as an engineer into question."

"How dare you!" she teased in mock outrage. "Fine. I will, but only if you agree to get some sleep."

He smiled wryly. "Deal."

She turned to go, then stopped and looked back.

"See ya at dinner?"

He nodded and she left.

He sat looking at the door for a while, then eventually turned back to the screen. After hesitating a moment, he brought up a different page of the engineer's file. The third line from the top read, "**SPECIES: HUMAN GENDER: FEMALE AGE: 30 EARTH YEARS + 5 EARTH MONTHS + 17 EARTH DAYS**"

Bones leaned back and rubbed his face with the heel of his hand. He couldn't help but remember the statistic for Pulls. The average woman experienced her Pull before the age of 30. Glancing at the screen again, he knew he was living on borrowed time with Rachel at this point. He probably had only a few more months tops before she was pulled to some young thing that would make her happy and maybe even convince her to leave Starfleet. In some ways that'd be easier. Then he wouldn't have to see them together. But that also meant he wouldn't see her at **all.** Their next shore leave on Earth was in four months time. He probably had that much time left with her.

The thought made his heart squeeze so much that the breath was kicked out of his chest. He sat glaring at the screen for a long time.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Pull

_(Okay, so this story will be a few more chapters long than I expected. I haven't added to it, but I realized that the last chapter was WAY too long and would do better as 2 or 3 chapters. So here you go!)_

**Chapter 5: The Pull**

**A Few Weeks Later**

**(Spock's POV)**

It was late. The ship was still. Or as still as it ever got. Spock had just left the lab and was making his way back to is quarters for the night. He was examining a pad as he drew level with the some of the lower officers' sleeping quarters. Seeing someone out of the corner of his eye, he glanced up.

"Greetings, Lieutenant Commander. What…" He trailed off.

Rachel was wearing soft, flannel sleeping pants and a faded blue T-shirt. Despite the chilliness of the hallway, her feet were bare.

She didn't seem to notice him. Spock began to wonder if she was sleep walking. But something was off, and once he took a few steps closer he saw why.

Rachel's eyes were completely closed. Her eyes didn't even twitch under the lids. He could also now see that she was walking in a slow, but unnaturally straight line down the hallway. When she reached the intersection where he stood, she made a perfect 90 degree turn and continued on at the same speed.

Spock was fascinated. Her symptoms did not seem to indicate sleepwalking as a possible diagnosis. He thought for a minute before developing another theory. Desiring to determine if his hypothesis was correct and also wanting to make sure the lieutenant commander stayed safe if he was wrong, he followed. After catching up he matched her slow but steady pace as they moved through the quiet ship.

**(Bones' POV)**

Bones had dimmed the lights as he moved around his cabin. He pulled on soft, grey sleeping pants and a faded burgundy T-shirt. He could barely keep his eyes open after his long shift. All he wanted was a quick cup of tea and then his pillow. When he heard a knock on his door he groaned out loud.

"Unless someone is dying, send me a comm message and I'll deal with it later! **Good-night!**"

He slammed his mug into the replicator and angrily stabbed the button. At first there was no other noise from the door. Then to his shock he suddenly heard the swish of his door opening. Swearing profusely he stormed out of his tiny kitchen and looked across his living space towards the door. He saw two dark figures silhouetted in the doorway. The one in the front was impossible to make out, but the taller one in the back was unmistakable.

"God dammit, Spock! What the actual hell-"

"Doctor, I would request that you remain quiet and still."

Bones sputtered in outrage.

"You pointy-eared, green-blooded bas…" Suddenly he trailed off.

The first figure walked slowly towards him and he recognized the outline now.

"_Rache?_"

Was this one of her pranks? He might have thought so if she were with anyone besides Spock. Then again, she'd already proven that she was able to recruit even the most unlikely accomplices.

"Darlin', what's goin'…"

Then he noticed that her eyes were completely shut.

"Spock?" he said again, much quieter.

"Doctor, I have a theory of what is occurring. And if you wait patiently a moment longer I believe I'm about to be proven correct."

Bones shot a glare at him but his expression softened as he watched Rachel slowly cross his living space. She was walking in such a straight line that her feet were almost being placed one directly in front of the other. As she passed his couch she made a perfect 90 degree turn and continued, still advancing towards him. His mind scrambled for a medical explanation. Like Spock, he quickly ruled out sleep walking. But it wasn't until Rachel stopped directly in front of him that he started to get the barest hint of an idea. For several long moments everyone was perfectly still. All Leonard could hear was Rachel's soft, even breaths and his own accelerating heartbeat.

Then Rachel slowly raised her right hand and placed it on Leonard's chest, over his heart. Her lips parted.

"Mine."

The word was soft but steady. Stated as an irrevocable fact. Bones felt it drop like a smooth stone into the pond that was his heart. It sent ripples coursing through him, caressing, clinging, and altering. He panted for breath as the feeling slowly faded. He looked down again and for a second or two he could see a thin, red thread with one end tied to his heart, threaded through his ribs, and extending until the other end could be seen attached to Rachel's heart. The image faded slowly. Rachel removed her hand from his heart. But after a pause, she replaced it with her cheek as she rested her head against his chest, still completely unconscious.

"Leonard." she murmured, smiling slightly. Then she was still again. No one moved or spoke for several long minutes.

Spock was the first to break the stillness. He came over to them and placed his fingers against Rachel's temples. Bones had to stop himself from instinctively pushing him away. There was a pause, then the vulcan stepped back.

"May I be the first to congratulate you, Doctor McCoy, on finding a rare second soulmate. I am pleased to confirm that the Pull is genuine. I will sign the paperwork as the consulting telepath in order to formalize the connection." He paused, as if waiting for Bones to comment. When he remained silent, the vulcan went on. "I will have them drawn up and copies sent to your offices upon notarization. As you are aware, in the event of a Pull occuring on a Starfleet vessel, the officers involved are excused from all duties for the duration of 72 hours with the exception of a red alert. I shall find replacements to cover your shifts for that duration of time-"

"Stop. Just stop." Bones croaked breathlessly. His mouth was paper dry and his palms were clammy. His head was whirling. He couldn't think straight. How could this green-blooded hobgoblin be standing there, cool as you please, sprouting protocol while his world had just been turned upside down?

_This isn't happening. _ He thought. _It can't. _

But he knew that wasn't true.

He rubbed his eyes with a trembling hand, struggling to remember how to breathe. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. He looked down again at the peaceful,sleeping face of his soulmate. His _soulmate._

Bones glanced back up at Spock, who was examining him curiously. The sight of the annoyingly logical vulcan seemed to clear his head a bit. He took a shaky breath and swallowed hard.

"You're a hundred percent sure it's a genuine Pull?" he asked.

Spock raised one eyebrow.

"That is correct. I must admit experiencing surprise at your question, Doctor. Do you have reason to doubt the validity of this Pull?"

Bones didn't answer. Spock had no idea what kind of secrets that question could dig up. But the elf was probably the only telepath that he trusted 100% on something like this. Though he'd rather die than admit it out loud. He looked at Rachel again. She still breathed softly and evenly. Her face was relaxed, innocently oblivious to the turmoil inside him. A wave of protectiveness surged through him, and he finally wrapped his arms around her. The soft weight of her pressing against him calmed some of his panic. His shaking hands stilled a bit as he pressed his face into her hair and inhaled the scent of her honeysuckle shampoo. They stayed there, frozen, for several long minutes. Leonard drew strength from her warmth. The solidness of her presence. Slowly, his swirling thoughts slowed until he was finally able to make sense of a few of them at a time. It was then that he remembered that they weren't alone. He glanced up at Spock.

The vulcan was gazing at the lieutenant commander in a contemplative manner. "Should we wake her, Doctor?" he asked.

The question further cleared the fog from Bones' brain as he automatically went into doctor-mode. Taking a deep breath he lifted his head once more.

"No. The general rule is that it's best _not _to wake a sleepwalker. I don't know if this is exactly the same, but it's best to be on the safe side. We'll let her sleep it off and I'll see how she is when she wakes."

Spock nodded. "Then I bid you a good-night, Doctor. Along with another sincere congratulations to the both of you." Raising his hand in his customary vulcan salute he turned and left, the door swishing shut behind him.

In the silence, Leonard struggled not to start freaking out again. Mentally shoving his roiling emotions into a corner of his mind, he slowly released Rachel. Taking her limp wrist he felt for her pulse. It was still at a REM sleep's steady pace. Carefully, he stepped back from her, his hands steadying her shoulders. She continued to stand on her own, though a small wrinkle appeared between her eyes at his absence. Applying gentle pressure, Bones steered her towards his room. She went willingly enough, her eyes never flickering under her lids. With careful guidance, he got her to sit and then lie down on his bed. He pulled the covers up around her and sat back.

He needed to think. His exhaustion was completely gone. Banished by adrenaline and the effects of the initial, half-formed bond connecting them. He could feel it, tugging at him gently. It was comforting and slightly unnerving. Like a loose tooth, it nagged at the back of his mind, not fully connected and feeling just slightly...off. Bones shook his head to clear it. He stood, intending to head back to the living room when Rachel's hand shot up to grab his. When he looked, he saw that her eyes still hadn't opened. But her breathing was a little more uneven and her face had crumpled into a frown. Bones gave an experimental tug on her hand. Rachel let out a slight whimper, curling in on herself slightly as if in pain. The sound made his heart squeeze. Left with no other choice, he crawled over her onto the bed and sat with his back against the headboard. She instantly turned over in his direction and cuddled into his side with a happy sigh. He hesitantly let his hand rest on her shoulder. Her only response is to snuggle closer.

Leonard released a tense breath and let his head lightly thunk back against the headboard. He'd never felt such a confusing tangle of emotions. His cynical self was elaborating on all of his many faults, telling him that Rachel didn't deserve to be tied to such a mess of a man. The other side of him was paralyzed with joy. His impossible, hidden wish that he'd never fully admitted to himself even in his own mind had somehow, miraculously come true! He'd given up hope of this day ever coming, let alone that it would be his best friend and secret crush. The third part of his mind, his inner self, felt an undeniable sense of peace. _This was right. This was what was meant to be. _ It quietly smothered his cynical side's demand that he push her away for her own sake and it helped focus the delirious happiness of the other one.

Bones glanced down at the woman beside him. She had a freckle near the inside corner of her right eye. Rachel'd told him once that as a child her father would mistake it for dirt and try to clean it off with his thumb. More often than not, this led to her getting poked in the eye and her teasing him exasperatedly. She'd laughed when she recounted the story to Leonard and he smiled briefly as he remembered.

Gazing at her now, he hoped she wouldn't wake up afraid and confused about why she was in a strange bed with a man beside her. He'd have to be ready to dodge any punches she might throw in the hazy stage of half-awakeness. He'd seen her hit a Klingon general two heads taller than her and lay him out flat.

A strand of hair had fallen over Rachel's eyes, getting caught in her eyelashes and making her lids flicker. He gently brushed the lock behind her ear. She hummed in her sleep as he let his hand brush against her cheek.

"Leonard?" she murmured.

He leaned forward to see if she was waking up, but she simply rested a hand on his thigh and slept on.

Bones played with a strand of her hair as he thought.

He owed her the truth. He accepted that fact the instant he thought it. He had to be completely honest from the very start, whether or not it opened up old, festering wounds. Rachel deserved to know. Second soulmates were _extremely_ rare. She was sure to be curious.

Stewing about it won't make it any easier to tell. He told himself. Shifting himself into a more comfortable spot with a pillow behind his back, he settled in to wait.

There was no chance of him sleeping now.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Second Soulmate

**Chapter 5: The "Second" Soulmate**

_(One more chapter after this!)_

**Four and a half hours later**

(Rachel's POV)

The first thing Rachel was conscious of was a solid warmth beside her and the second was a slight tickling sensation as someone played with her hair. A few minutes later she was lucid enough to realize that this was not a normal occurrence and that she should probably be disturbed by it. However, she couldn't seem to muster up any feeling of alarm. Still partially asleep, she tried to work out why she was so calm. Mentally examined herself without moving, she became aware of a difference. Nothing she could nail down and describe. She just felt...new. Like something within her had changed forever. It wasn't unpleasant. Just confusing.

Then, still without opening her eyes, she examined her surroundings. Based on the pillow under her head and the blankets covering her she surmised that she was on a bed, though it didn't feel like her own. That was definitely a person she was curled up against. Their familiar scent told her exactly who it was. Adding it all up she thought she had an answer.

"Am I sick?" she asked, her voice gravelly from sleep.

The hand let go of her hair and was laid gently on her forehead.

"No, darlin'. You're not sick."

"Am I in the med bay?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"I'm in a strange bed, I feel a bit odd, and my favorite doctor's here." She finally opened her eyes and tilted her head up. Meeting Leonard's gaze both reassured her and worried her. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked apprehensive. She also couldn't miss the fact that he was in his pajamas and that this bed was much too large and comfy to belong to the med bay.

"How do you feel?" he asked before Rachel could question him further.

"Fine. Well rested, which is nice." Suddenly she tensed. "Oh shit! What time is it? Has my shift started yet?" Rachel struggled to sit up but Bones calmed her movement with a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have a shift today. Spock changed the schedule."

"He did?" Now she was even more confused. "Why would he do that?"

Leonard didn't answer. He just moved his hand down her arm until he could feel her pulse. After a minute he got out of bed and fetched a tricorder from his dresser. Coming over to her side of the bed he had her sit up on the edge. Rachel's mind was a buzz with questions. But she knew him well enough to know that she wouldn't get anything out of him until he'd satisfied his doctor instincts. So she held still as he checked her blood pressure and eye movement. Then he looked at the results on his scanner.

"Slightly dehydrated, but not too bad. Come on."

He led her out of the room, which she now realized with a shock was _his_ bedroom. He had her take a seat on the couch in his living space. Then he went to the small kitchen and returned a moment later with a glass of water.

"Down the hatch. All of it." he ordered.

Deciding she would get answers faster by obeying instead of arguing, Rachel drank the whole glass. Afterwards she did feel better. She still felt that strange, inexpressible..._difference_. But now she was more awake and refreshed.

Setting the glass down on the coffee table, Rachel faced Bones. He was standing awkwardly next to the couch, his hands buried in his pockets and his shoulders hunched.

She waited a few moments and then asked, "Well?"

Reluctantly, the doctor raised his eyes from the floor to meet hers.

"Well, what?"

She crossed her arms and gave him her best bitch face. Bones rolled his eyes at her, but his shoulder muscles relaxed slightly.

"You look just like your cousin when you do that."

"Stop trying to change the subject."

He sighed. "Fine." He hesitated again, then walked over to a shelf to fetch his pad. "But it'll be best if I just show you." Using the pad as a remote, he brought up the ship's security video database on the big screen. After a bit of searching, he pulled up several different views. Most of them were just corridors, but Rachel recognized the hallway outside her quarters and the one outside this room. Bones rewound the footage several hours before playing it.

Confused, Rachel raised an eyebrow at the doctor.

"What's this? Are we spying on the crew now or-"

"Just watch." he said, sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

Frowning, she looked at the screen again. After a few moments she saw someone leave her room. Squinting, she took the pad from Bones and zoomed in on the image. Her eyes went wide. It was herself. She took in her own unnaturally straight and purposeful gait as well as her closed eyes.

Not taking her eyes from the image, Rachel left the couch and moved to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of the screen. She watched herself encounter Spock (if you count completely ignoring him an encounter). Spock seemed to speak to her, but when he got no response he hesitated, and then followed her. She followed her own movements through the twisting hallways of the ship. Spock continued to tail her. Eventually she reached the section with the officer's quarters. Never changing her pace, the Rachel on the screen walked directly up to Leonard's door. Only when her nose was practically touching it did she stop. Spock drew level with her and leaned forward to see her face. After a few seconds. Rachel lifted her hand and knocked on the door. There was no audio, but after a few seconds, Spock typed an override code into the keypad and the door swished open. They both entered and the camera could no longer pick them up.

Rachel glanced back at Leonard and he gestured for her to hand him the pad. She slid it across the coffee table. He exited out of the corridor feeds and typed in a special password to bring up another. It showed the interior of his own living space.

Correctly interpreting her startled glance at him he explained, "They had a few hostage and booby trap situations with the officers on some Starfleet ships a while back. So they made it mandatory that all the high ranking officers have to have their living space under surveillance. Not their sleeping quarters though. It's never accessed except in an emergency and only a few know the code."

Wrinkling her nose, Rachel turned back to the screen. Bones rewound it to the right spot and pushed play. She watched as Bones stormed angrily out of his kitchen only to freeze. She saw herself moving at that same unnaturally consistent pace as she crossed the room towards Leonard. Spock entered as well but remained by the door. When the image of herself reached the doctor, there was a pause, then the figure lifted her hand and placed it over his heart.

The real Rachel's eyes got wide. Her breath caught in her throat. On the screen, Bones' face morphed into complete shock and wonder. A shiver rolled through him and he gasped for breath. Then she saw it. For a few moments, a red string was visible, connecting herself to Bones. It faded, but the image was burned into her eyes. She barely watched the rest of the video where Spock confirmed the Pull and spoke with the doctor for a while before leaving. All she saw was Leonard's arms wrapped around her sleeping form and the torn but incredibly tender look on his face as he eventually led her gently to his room.

Rachel was shaking. Her hands were pressed over her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks. For nearly three long minutes she couldn't speak or move. When she finally turned, Bones was leaning over, his elbows on his knees, and his face in his hands.

"I…" She swallowed hard. "After all this time...I'd almost given up hope… And the whole time...it was _**you**_."

Bones flinched.

Rachel frowned. Not exactly the response she'd been hoping for. She waited for him to look at her or to say something...anything.

Finally she asked, "Len? What's wrong?"

After a moment, the doctor let out a sigh and gestured to the couch beside him.

"I… There's something that we need to talk about...before anything else."

Rachel hesitated, then moved to sit on the opposite end of the couch. She was experiencing such a whirlwind of emotions that she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, trying to hold it all in. Fear was beginning to cloud the initial rush of joy she felt.

The doctor hesitated again, still not meeting her eyes. Then, taking a shaky breath and placing his hands on his knees, he cleared his throat.

"I just… I'm not pushing you away." Finally glancing up at her, he saw her dubious look. He made an effort to soften his expression. "I mean it. But..." He saw Rachel flinch at the word and automatically placed a hand on her foot soothingly. "Honesty is the key to any friendship..." She frowned again at the word "friendship". "Or relationship." he added quickly. "Before we...discuss anything else, there are some things that you deserve to know. I don't want to hide anything from you. So I want to get this out there from the start. Just...please don't interrupt me. It'll be easier to keep going once I get on a roll."

Not liking the distressed look on his face, Rachel placed her hand over his. He met her gaze. She made herself smile and he seemed encouraged by it. Nodding, he rubbed his hand over his face as he thought about where to start.

"How much do you know about my ex?"

Rachel blinked in surprise.

"I… I know her name is Amber. You have custody and visitation issues with her. Other than that...I only know that she's a horrible piece of human flesh and that you escaped Earth with only your 'bones' after the divorce."

He gave an unconvincing, crooked smile as he stared at his feet.

"We were from neighboring towns in Georgia," he started. "I'd just come back from Atlanta with my doctor's license. We met at a 4th of July picnic. She was from a well-to-do family. When someone introduced us she didn't seem very interested until they mentioned that I was a doctor and had finished at the top of my class. Then she couldn't get enough of me. I guess that should have been the first red flag right there. But I'd been buried in books for almost the last decade. I hadn't had much time for girls. And I was flattered by the attention.

We saw each other quite a few times over the next few months. Long story short, one day she turns up, her hand literally dragging her along until she put it over my heart. I felt an electric-type shock, and that was that. There was nothing like the red string we saw, but every Pull is a little different. A telepath confirmed the Pull and I was excited to have found my soulmate. We were married only a few months after that."

Leonard closed his eyes and his tone took on a bitter edge.

"It was soon apparent that Amber had expected me to be much more ambitious. She kept asking when we were going to move to a bigger city. I had no interest in being anything beyond a family doctor. I was less cynical and had a slightly better bedside manner than I do now." He rolled his eyes. "Jim would've been proud."

Bones looked up, to see how Rachel was taking all of this. She still sat with her arms wrapped around her legs. She was rather uncomfortable talking about his ex. But at the same time she appreciated his openness. He'd never gone into any detail about his married life, unless it had to do with Joanna. She nodded encouragingly, keeping her face as neutral as she could. Bones looked back down at his hands and continued.

"Amber started complaining that the income I got from working at the practice wasn't enough for her to live the way she wanted. It didn't take her long to max out several credit cards. Then she started introducing me to people from large institutions and hospitals as a not-so subtle hint. She even filled out job applications for me and submitted them. I was really irritated about that and turned down the positions that were offered to me. That pissed her off.

A year or so later, Joanna came along. I was **so** excited to be a dad…" He blinked suddenly bright eyes. "But from the very beginning Amber kept telling me that I was doing everything wrong. I wasn't holding her right. I hadn't put her diaper on the right way. I shouldn't discipline her for that. I shouldn't feed her that. I shouldn't let her play with that kid. I shouldn't dress her like that. It went on and on.

Our fights got worse and worse. Amber was bitter and furious. I even offered to move to a slightly larger practice with better pay. I didn't want to live in a city, but I wanted to find a compromise. She refused. She wanted the glitz and glamour of being a well-connected, rich doctor's wife, or nothing. I might have been able to handle living in a city. But I didn't want to mix with the kind of people she thought were good company. I wasn't into the politics and the smoosing and the drama that went on in those groups.

I blamed myself. I knew I couldn't and wouldn't change everything about myself to suit her and I felt guilty about that. Divorces with soulmates are so rare… I felt like a failure. I was failing my marriage, my soulmate, and my daughter. Lots of the things Amber said about me stuck in my head and I started to believe some of them. I started drinking, and my practice suffered from it. I desperately wanted to save our relationship for Joanna's sake, even long after I would have given up if it was just the two of us."

Leonard rubbed his eyes again.

"I didn't love my wife anymore. In the beginning...I _thought_ I did. But that was just a distant memory."

His face became stony.

"Finally, it all came down to a last fight. We both said a lot of horrible things to each other, trying to outdo the other. I'm not proud of it. But then she pulled a trump card. She said that she never should have married me. When I pointed out that we were soulmates and supposed to be right for each other, she…she said that she'd _faked_ it."

Rachel blinked. "Faked what?"

He gave her a bleak look.

"The Pull."

Rachel froze, her breath locked in her throat.

Lying about a Pull in any way was a criminal act. It was considered a sacred bond. Very few people dared to interfere. It was so taboo that even the hardest criminal respected the unknown power that connected a person to their other half.

"She wanted to be married to a rich doctor. That's what it boiled down to. A simple electric buzzer hidden in her hand was used to create the shocking sensation when she claimed me. It was the kind of thing found in cheap joke shops. She'd bribed the telepath that confirmed the Pull. When she told me, I was...too stunned to say anything for a long time. I eventually accused her of lying. But deep down, I knew it had to be true. We'd never had anything like a real soulmate relationship. I'd been kidding myself all this time believing that I could fix what was wrong with us, or at least with me, in order to make it work.

As soon as I accepted that she was telling the truth, I knew that was the end of our marriage. I drank even more heavily through the divorce proceedings. I wanted to use what I knew to get more visitation rights with Joanna. Amber would've gone to jail for a long time if they'd found out. But she made it clear that there was no evidence. It would be my word against hers. And she'd already told the judge lots of lies about me. She used evidence of my alcoholism in an abuse allegation. Her parents helped her pay for some very good lawyers. I couldn't win. I thought about explaining things to Joanna. But I didn't want to ruin her relationship with her mother, especially since she would have to live with her. Somehow she's never seemed to entirely fall for all the things her mother told her about me over the years. I don't know how she resists the poison constantly being dripped into her ears, but she's still a daddy's girl at heart." His mouth twitched.

Anyway…" said Bones, winding down to the end of his story. "My reputation was ruined. I left the practice before they could officially fire me. Amber was given sole custody as well as the house, the car, most of our money, and nearly all of our other assets.

I couldn't stay in town after that. I had to get away. Despite my aviophobia I was desperate to get as far away as I possibly could. So I enlisted in Starfleet, jumped on a transport, and right after that I ran into a pair of cousins that turned my life upside down."

He looked up at her and gave a slight, genuine smile for the first time since she woke up.

"And you know how the rest went from there."

The silence stretched between them as Rachel struggled to take everything in. She was torn between shock, fury, and empathy.

Finally Bones rested a hand on her knee.

"Please… Say something." he begged.

Rachel let go of her legs and sat criss-cross with her hands in her lap. She had to clench them to keep them from shaking. She thought through her words carefully before speaking.

"I have three things to say."

He hesitated, then nodded for her to continue.

"One: for my next shore leave I'm headed to Georgia."

Bones blinked in surprise. "Why?"

"Because I want to yank out all of Amber's hair and choke her with it."

The doctor's mouth twitched. "Noted. And second?"

"Two," Rachel met his gaze squarely. "I'm so sorry for what she did to you. It was NOT your fault. What that..._creature_ did is unspeakable and unforgivable and she deserves to rot in jail. How **dare** she keep you from Joanna when this whole mess is **her** fault to begin with! I wish… I wish I could fix it for you." She grinned ruefully. "That's one of the drawbacks of my job. You get used to being able to fix things with a few screws and a blowtorch. People aren't that simple to fix…..and it's _**frustrating as hell!**_" She pounded her fist onto her knee to express her feelings, then winced as it hurt more than she'd expected. Bones actually chucked at that point and reached over to rub the spot for her. Rachel smiled sheepishly at him and took several deep breaths before speaking again.

"And three," Her face softened and she put a hand on the doctor's arm. "I would **never** do that to you." She met his gaze fiercely. "I don't know what's going to happen between us… But I would never, **EVER** betray you like that. You're the best man I know. The best friend I've ever had. And no, that is not me friend-zoning you. I just want you to know that no matter what we decide to do next, the _**last**_ thing I want to do is hurt you." She searched his face, trying to read what he was thinking. "Please believe me."

Slowly, Leonard nodded and gave her a shaky smile.

_P.S. Happy Mother's Day! Sorry you had to read about such a horrible mom (*cough* Amber *cough*) on this day._


	7. Chapter 7: ONLY With You

**Chapter 7: ****_Only_**** with You**

"_And three," Rachel's face softened and she put a hand on the doctor's arm. "I would __**never**_ _do that to you." She met his gaze fiercely. "I don't know what's going to happen between us… But I would never, __**EVER**_ _betray you like that. You're the best man I know. The best friend I've ever had. And no, that is not me friend-zoning you. I just want you to know that no matter what we decide to do next, the __**last**_ _thing I want to do is hurt you." She searched his face, trying to read what he was thinking. "Please believe me."_

_Slowly, Leonard nodded and gave her a shaky smile. _

Rachel let her breath out in relief and smiled back. Then, noticing she was still clutching Leonard's arm, she pulled away, feeling a bit self-conscious.

They sat for a few minutes, the tension between them severely lessoned. It was Rachel who finally spoke up.

"Sooooo… Now what?"

Bones just raised an eyebrow. Flushing, Rachel babbled on.

"I mean, you didn't reciprocate the initial bond. At least, I don't think you did…"

"I didn't."

She tried to keep her hurt from showing. "Why?"

He looked at her incredulously. "You were unconscious. It wouldn't be right."

Rachel's frown softened and she smiled teasingly. "A southern gentleman, as always."

Bones smiled crookedly and rolled his eyes. "Don't let it get around. I have a reputation as a hard-assed, cynical SOB to maintain."

Now the engineer rolled _her_ eyes. "Yeah, I know the names of several ensigns who are absolutely terrified of you. But," She nudged him with her foot. "I also know that if you asked anyone on this ship, they'd say that you care more about your patients than anyone they've ever met."

The doctor rubbed his nose, embarrassed, while Rachel hesitated to ask her next question.

"Was that...the only reason you didn't solidify the bond?"

"No."

Rachel jerked back, unable to conceal the sting this time. But Leonard's eyes widened and he waved his hand.

"No, no! Not why you think! I just figured you deserved to know all of the dirty details of my past '_match'_ before tying you to an old fart like me."

"Oi!" She squawked, putting her hands on her hips. "You're not old. And I'm only 5 years younger anyway!"

Bones rolled his eyes again, but he was fighting a grin.

Rachel couldn't resist asking the next question that was on the tip of her tongue. Though she felt self-conscious asking it. She started fiddling with the hem of her pajama pants.

"So you don't…"

"Don't what?"

She avoided his eyes. "Regret it? You don't wish it'd been someone else-"

"**No!**"

His answer was so swift and vehement that Rachel's heart soared. Her question also seemed to reassure Bones more than anything else she'd said. He hesitated, then took her hand in his. Hers were a lot smaller, and he traced the many scars that covered her hands from a lifetime of engineering mishaps.

"But are **you** disappointed?"

Seeing the utter vulnerability in his eyes, she finally gave in to her need to touch him. Crawling over she curled into his side.

"**Never.**" she whispered fiercely.

She felt him relax. Moving his arm out of the way, he wrapped it around her shoulders so he could pull her close and gave her his other hand to hold.

"Are you sure?" he asked, playing with her fingers. "What you see is what you get with me. And you know me better than anyone." His other thumb absently stroked small circles on her shoulder.

She nodded, leaning into him.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. It was Rachel who spoke first, in a soft murmur.

"I've looked forward to this day my whole life. And before you start getting all worried again, no I'm _not_ disappointed. Well, actually I'm a little upset that I was _asleep_ for the whole thing. That kind of sucked."

Bones chuckled and squeezed her shoulders. "I'll make a copy of the surveillance video for you."

Rachel looked up at him.

"I meant what I said earlier." she said softly. "You are truly the best man I've ever known. You're a man who talks like he hates people but then spends his days saving them. Your dark sense of humor matches my own. I have to admit, I hated your ex even before I knew about all this. Not just because she's an ass when it comes to visitations, but because…" She blushed. "Because her very existence meant that you'd already met your match. The odds of anyone having two soulmates are so miniscule… And then, even if you _did_ have a second match, the odds of it being _me_ were pretty much mathematically impossible."

Leonard brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Hold up a second, darlin'. You've _thought_ about this?"

Rachel blushed even harder. She opened and closed her mouth several times before she managed to reply.

"I...uh… Maybe."

"_Maybe?_"

"Fine. Jim _may_ have gotten me drunk one night and we _may_ have played truth or dare."

The doctor snorted.

"Oi! It's fun!"

"But childish."

"Exactly!" Rachel huffed as he laughed at her. "Aaaanyway, he _may_ have asked me who I'd pick if I got to choose my own match. And I _may_ have said your name a little too fast. He _may_ have teased me about it once we were sober until he realized how serious I was. I _may_ have sworn him to secrecy and for once he kept his trap shut." She sighed. "But even Jim didn't realize how much his question affected me. I'd thought about it before, but it wasn't until then that I realized how much I wanted it to be you."

Leonard tilted her chin up to look at him.

"Darlin'... You _really _want this? With me?"

Rachel met his gaze squarely.

"**Only** with you."

The doctor swallowed hard, then sighed. "I know it's complicated. I need to figure out what to do about Joanna and Amber. But right now I don't care. Because there's no way I can walk away now that I know I have a chance."

She cupped his face and pulled him close. "Then **don't,** you big idiot."

Leonard smiled fully for the first time that night. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then he untangled their arms and moved to kneel in front of the couch facing her. Rachel's breath caught in her throat as he placed his right hand over her heart. Taking a deep breath he recited the initial bonding declamation that had been spoken for thousands of years. The ones that bound them together fully and created the first level of their bond.

They both gasped as something rippled through them both, causing every hair on their bodies to tingle. Once again, the red string connecting them became visible. But this time, as they watched, a second strand of deep blue wove together with the first and created a thicker, stronger cord. It would remain like that until the wedding pledge was spoken, when it would strengthen once more and turn gold.

As the image faded, their eyes met. Both were shiny with moisture and their faces almost couldn't contain their smiles. The nagging sensation of the half-finished bond was gone. Instinctively, they both leant forward… Until a sudden loud grumble emanating from Rachel's stomach made them pause. She would have ignored it, but to her disappointment, Bone's doctor instincts trumped his desire to kiss her for the moment. Standing, he glanced at the time.

"It's past breakfast time. _Somebody_ overslept."

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"You _let _me! You could've woken me up."

"I didn't want to. I wasn't looking forward to facing the possibility of you being disappointed and walking away."

"All right, that's enough of that," Rachel stood and grabbed his chin, pulling him down to eye level and making sure she had his full attention. "This relationship is never going to work if we're constantly pitying or beating ourselves up. Stop thinking that you don't deserve this. Because I assure you, I feel the same way. I definitely don't deserve as good a man as you." Seeing that he was about to interrupt she shushed him. "I know I'm not perfect and you _deserve_ perfect. Especially having lived through the exact opposite with that _cow_. But I like your faults, and you seem to put up with mine okay. Neither of us will ever be perfect. So let's agree to disagree about who deserves who. Because that's not a healthy kind of relationship."

Leonard blinked at her. Then his trademark crooked smile reappeared.

"Are you _sure_ you're related to Jim? Because that was a very mature point you just made."

Rachel snorted. "Ha ha. Dork." she said affectionately. Reaching up, she kissed him on the cheek. When she pulled back there was heat in the doctor's eyes. One arm snaked around her waist, pulling her flush to him. The engineer's breath caught.

Leonard's voice had dropped an octave as he said, "I guess now I don't feel ashamed of all the times I pictured holding you like this." With his free hand he traced the line of her neck, making her shiver. "Darlin'… Do you know how hard I had to try not to imagine doing things like this with you...or _to_ you?" Leaning forward, his lips followed the same path his fingers had, barely brushing the skin of her neck and jaw. Rachel swore her heart stopped beating as goosebumps ran up her arms. "I guess now I can let myself get more inventive with my daydreams," he murmured against her skin.

"R-really?" she squeaked, distracted by the circles his thumb was making in the small of her back where her sleep shirt had ridden up.

"Mmmmm. Sometime I'll tell you about them." His lips were by her ear now. He pulled back until Rachel could feel his breath on her lips. Her eyes fluttered closed of her own accord and she leaned forward slightly. Suddenly, Leonard released her and pulled back. "But not right now. First, breakfast!"

He took her hand and pulled her toward the kitchen. Rachel stumbled after him, completely thrown off balance.

"You're evil." she complained as he gently pushed her into a kitchen chair and turned to punch something into the replicator. He looked over his shoulder with a smirk and winked at her. Rachel liked this new side of Leonard, but she also kind of hated it. Her heartbeat slowly returned to an almost normal speed as he brought her milk, an omelet, and some toast with strawberry jam. He refused to give her any coffee until she drank the milk.

Rachel pouted. "I know for a _fact_ that you dive straight into the coffee pot the moment you wake up every morning." she groused. His response was to pour himself a glass of milk too as he got his own meal. Then he sat and give her a smug look as he took a deliberate sip. "You're evil AND childish," she complained.

Bones smirked. "You love me," he said without thinking. Then he froze, worried that he'd overstepped.

Rachel just smiled and reached for his hand. "Yes. Yes, I do. Have for a long time."

He stared at her, wide-eyed, then tried to swallow his mouthful of milk and almost choked. She giggled and let go of his hand in order to eat her meal. Though her foot came to rest on top of his under the table instead. He raised an eyebrow, but she just smiled innocently.

They ate in companionable silence. Eventually, Rachel looked up at the clock and asked when their next shifts would be. Leonard explained that Spock had cleared their schedules for three whole days so that they could spend time together. Rachel blushed.

"Will you be able to stand being away from the Medbay that long?" she teased.

He just chuckled. "Maybe. What about you? Can you keep your hands off your tools for a whole 72 hours?"

Rachel shrugged. "I'm more interested in how long it'll take Jim to come looking for us. Do you think Spock will tell him?"

"Nah. But that pup might wriggle the information out of someone somehow. Spock had to enter the information into our files. Sooner or later, Jim will think to check them."

"Maybe." Taking another bite she thought as she chewed. "Scotty may come looking for me too. He knows I'm not one to call in sick very often." She glanced up at the doctor. "Who do you think will show up first?"

Bones shook his head as he swallowed his mouthful of toast. "Jim, for sure."

"I don't know." Rachel spun her fork between her fingers. "I think Scotty had some idea of how I felt about you. He never said anything about it, but he knows me pretty well." Bones' smile got tender as he looked at her. Rachel blushed again under his gaze. "He'll notice faster than Jim anyway when I don't show up for my shift." There was a pause. Then partially to distract herself from the fact that Leonard's free foot had started to trace up and down her calf, she asked, "Wanna make it interesting?"

Bones raised an eyebrow. "Make a bet?" She nodded and he shrugged. "Sure. But only if you're prepared to lose. Jim's an annoyingly persistent SOB."

Rachel chuckled. "True. But I still think Scotty will beat him. What should be the reward when I get it right?"

The doctor narrowed his eyes at her. "How about when _**I**_ win, you have to tell Jim that it was tomato juice."

"Awwwww!" the engineer pouted. "Fiiiiine. But when _**I **_win, you have to make me a full Georgian home-made dinner. No replicators allowed."

"How do you know I can even cook?"

"A little birdy told me." she said with a smirk. "Remember that time you asked me to answer the video call with Johanna until you could finish that surgery?"

"_She_ told you?"

"Oh yeah! I have all sorts of dirt on you. From both Johanna _and_ Jim."

She laughed as Bones pretended to grumble threats under his breath. But he stopped and stared at her after a moment or two.

"What?" she asked, still trying to swallow the last of her giggles.

Leonard stood and came around the table to pull her up into his arms as she squeaked in surprise.

"I don't have to resist the urge to hold you when I want any more. And, unfortunately for you, I doubt I'll be able to hold back for a while."

Rachel hugged him back tightly. "You mean '**fortunately' **for me." His chuckle ruffled her hair as he held her even tighter to his chest.

"I love you." The way he said it, so simply, so matter of fact, it made her heart melt.

Pulling back just enough that she could meet his gaze she said, "I love you too, you cranky old romantic."

The doctor rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. Rachel rested her head back on his shoulder and breathed in his personal scent. Secretly, she wished she were a cat so she could express her contentedness by purring loudly.

After a while she finally broke the silence. "So…"

"Soooo…?"

"Are you gonna kiss me or what?"

His chest rumbled under her cheek as he chuckled.

"Eventually." When she huffed in playful annoyance he continued, "It's fun to drag out the anticipation. I wouldn't want you to get bored with me too quickly. Anyway, we only get to have one 'first kiss'."

Rachel took half a step back, their arms still encircling each other. She looked up and studied him. His hazel eyes that had so often distracted her. His hair that she couldn't and didn't resist running her fingers through, making him sigh in appreciation as he leaned into her touch. The solid comfort of his muscled arms wrapped around her. His tanned skin and strong jaw. Her thumb brushed across his cheekbone, then her fingers moved to softly trace his jawline, and then his lips.

"I don't need candles or romantic music or sunsets." Her voice was quiet. Almost a whisper. "I just need **you**. _You_, standing there and looking at me just like you are right now."

"How am I looking at you?" he murmured. The warmth of his breath against her fingers made her shiver pleasantly as she blushed yet again. If this kept up she'd spend the rest of her life with rosy red cheeks.

"There are lots of ways to describe it. But I don't want to say my first thought in case it sounds too egocentric."

He smiled. "Fine. What was your second thought then?"

"That you have beautiful eyes."

He let out a huff of laughter and leaned forward to press a kiss to her left temple. "And your third thought?"

"I, uh…" He was intentionally distracting her, but she couldn't find the will to make him stop. "That I've waited my whole life to have someone look at me with so much...tenderness."

Leonard softly kissed her right temple. "Now who's the old romantic?" he teased, his lips tickling her skin. "And what about that first thought? The egotistical one." When she hesitated, he pulled back to look at her. His hand rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay. I promise not to tease you _too_ much." He winked.

Rachel swallowed, her face cherry red. "I was thinking that you look more at peace than I've ever seen you. Like...like you finally got everything you've ever wanted."

The doctor's face somehow became even more tender as one hand reached up to cup her face gently.

"I think I have."

And he closed the last few inches between them as he finally pressed his mouth to hers.

_And that's the end! I hope you all liked it! I'd be willing to write another chapter or an epilogue if anyone is interested. If you are, message me. :)_


	8. Epilogue: Part 1

**Epilogue: Part 1**

Across the universe, the first kiss (or significant, romantic, physical show of affection, depending on their species) between soulmates was used to strengthen their newly made bond. The two Starfleet officers experiencing this phenomenon in the Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer's cabin could feel a tug as the incorporeal cord that connected their hearts grew and thickened once more. Instead of two simple strands it now consisted of numerous small threads braided together in a more elaborate pattern. Neither of the officers gave this much thought though. Their attention was most decidedly _elsewhere_.

Doctor Leonard McCoy's hands were shaking almost imperceptibly as his thumbs traced Lieutenant Commander Rachel Ryanns' cheekbones. But she noticed. She was concentrating on the feel of him so hard that she swore she could _hear_ the blood pumping through his veins. His lips moved over hers and she could feel every millimeter of his warm skin. But all she could think of was that she wanted to feel _more_ of him. When she let her tongue brush against his bottom lip she felt his surprise in the small pause of his movements and the surge of heat that filled him as he responded in kind.

She barely noticed as her back made contact with the wall. One of her hands was buried in his hair and the other wrapped tightly around his waist. Leonard's breath caught at the feeling of her fingernails against his scalp. In retaliation he sucked gently on her tongue, encouraging the soft moan that left her by pressing them together from shoulder to knee. They stayed that way for longer than a normal _first_ kiss would traditionally last. Not that either of them cared. They had waited for this day long enough.

Their passions fueled each other for a while until very slowly they came back to themselves. Their foreheads rested against each other as they caught their breath, warm air mingling in the small space between them. Rachel felt the coolness of the wall at her back and the dull throb of her abused lips. Finally her eyes fluttered open and she was immensely proud of how dazed her soulmate's gaze was as it met hers. They stared in wonder as they felt their hearts thundering in time with each other's. Neither spoke for several long minutes as they caught their breath.

Leonard was the first to speak. He brushed a strand of hair away from Rachel's cheek and swallowed.

"Well...that was…"

"Wow…"

A crooked, self-satisfied smile spread across his face.

"Yeah. _Wow._"

Rachel smiled too. She released her death-grip on his hair and let her hand slide down his face until her thumb could brush softly against his swollen lips.

"As first kisses go, that was...not bad." she finished lamely.

He grinned and took her hand in his, softly placing a kiss on each of her knuckles.

"The first of many." he promised, making her shiver pleasantly.

Rachel leaned up and pressed her lips softly to his. Just a peck this time, but she felt both of their heart rates give a small kick. Bones smiled and leaned his forehead against hers once again as his hands wound themselves around her waist like a vice. Neither felt any inclination to move for a long time.

It was a noise from the corridor outside that first brought them fully back to reality. A babble of voices and the sound of several pairs of feet as a group made its way down the hall. Bones' reaction was immediate. He swept Rachel to the side so that he was between her and the potential "threat". His upper lip curved in a hint of a snarl, something that shocked them both a bit. After a beat or two, once the voices had faded, he suddenly jerked upright. Feeling slightly ridiculous he glanced back at his soulmate who was looking at him with amusement.

"Uh… Sorry." he muttered.

Rachel wrapped both her arms around one of his. "Don't be. I guess our bond will keep us a bit overly possessive for a while as we get used to it. Not that I'm complaining." Grinning at his continued embarrassment she pulled him back towards the table. "C'mmon. Let's finish eating." The doctor let her lead him, still looking chagrined.

"I almost kissed you at a holiday party once," Rachel admitted. She was sitting between Leonard's legs on the couch as they both sprawled out. His cheek leaned against her forehead so she felt the puff of his breath as he laughed.

"_What?_ When?"

"A few years ago. That one time Jim spiked the cocoa without telling anyone."

"Oh, right. I almost tore his head off for that one."

Rachel giggled and rested her hand on the arm 'round her waist.

"I could feel myself getting more 'Jim-like' after my third mug-full."

"And by 'Jim-like' you mean-?"

"Irrationally overconfident with an unhealthy dose of 'why the hell not' and a dash of suicidal bravery."

Bones burst out laughing, clutching her closer to his chest.

"I'm gonna have to use that one." he sighed, wiping at his eyes.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well… Now you know why I don't like to drink that much."

"Because when you do you turn into your cousin?"

Rachel fake shuddered. "Oh, the _horror_!" she cried dramatically.

Bones snorted and kissed her forehead. "There, there, my poor darlin'. Now, what happened after you reached the 'Jim-Level' of drunk?"

"Well, first I just stared...like a _lot_. I still can't believe you didn't notice. I counted every line on your face. From your 'Jim Wrinkles' to your adorable crows-feet."

"Adorable?" He grinned down at her until Rachel elbowed him gently in the gut.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, then I stuffed my face with fruitcake to keep myself from talking. But that didn't last long because I hate fruitcake. So I started word-vomiting to poor Chekov. I only remember bits of it. I think I talked about how handsome the color blue made people, how much I liked guys who were good with kids, an' how sarcasm was an underrated language." She could feel him smiling into her hair and decided not to let his ego get too inflated. "I think I also monologued about snails at one point."

"Wha-_snails_?"

"Uh-huh. I definitely remember crying on Chekov's shoulder about how sad it was that they never had enough time to do everything they wanted to in life because they moved so slow. In hindsight, I'm surprised I didn't traumatize the poor kid any more than I did. I found him the next day and apologized and promised to bake him cupcakes."

"Remind me to send him to the trauma psychologist sometime next week."

"_Rude!_"

His response was a deep kiss that completely erased any irritation she might have felt.

When he finally pulled back, Rachel blinked several times, cleared her throat and asked, "Uh… What was I talking about?"

He smiled smugly. "How you almost kissed me at the Christmas party."

"Oh...right...uhhh… I _nearly_ did. After Chekov managed to escape me I went to the food table and found a sprig of parsley. Then I found Sulu talking to Uhura and asked him if he thought it looked enough like mistletoe. All I got from him was a look of horror, so Nyota pulled me off to get me a glass of water. I must have given her the slip though because the next thing I remember is lying down on the couch with my hands over my chest, trying to get my hair to fan out gracefully around me."

"Whatever for?"

"I was pretending to be Sleeping Beauty."

"Why?"

"So you'd be wooed by my beauty and come over to kiss me awake."

"What happened?"

"I fell asleep."

Bones tried valiantly to contain his laughter, but failed after Rachel commented that he sounded like a pig about to explode.

"Well," he said after he'd calmed down again. "I don't know if I'm glad or upset that you didn't kiss me. But remind me to thank Jim the next time I see him. Which should be soon since I'm going to win that bet."

"In deinen Traumen."

"Was that German?"

"Yep. Three years of it in High School."

"What's it mean?"

"Look it up later. Right now it's your turn."

"My turn?"

"To tell me something embarrassing. It's only fair since I've bared my soul to you and all you could do was _laugh_."

"Sorry, not sorry."

"Jerk."

"I love you too."

She blushed.

Bones leant back against the cushions, his hand twisting one of her curls around and around his index finger.

"Let me think… Oh, I almost committed a crime against Starfleet for you."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because I hated that you were turning thirty."

"Why in the name of Spock's tighty-whities-?!"

"Ugh! Stop right there! I did NOT need that image in my head!"

"Too bad! Now what's wrong with me-"

"Because of the stats on Pulls."

Rachel looked up at him, suddenly quiet.

"I, uh… When you came in a few months back with your shoulder torn all to shreds? I nearly hacked Starfleet's database and changed your personal info after you left. The average woman gets Pulled by the time their thirty. I sat there glaring holes into the screen until I was so fed up that I almost used my medical chief override to change your file."

She looked at him for several long minutes, then blinked, confused.

"But that wouldn't have changed how old I was."

He huffed grumpily to himself.

"It would have made _**me**_ feel better."

"So you almost committed a felony to hack a top class database to basically put some non-permanent graffiti in-"

"Yes."

There was silence between them for a while.

"I considered not going to your last birthday party. Just out of childish rebellion. The whole _if-I-don't-see-it-then-it's-not-a-thing_ routine. But I didn't want to disappoint you. I've been dreading our next shore leave because I was sure you'd receive your Pull as soon as we touched down and that'd be it."

Rachel turned sideways in order to cuddle into the doctor's chest more securely. She pressed a kiss over his heart, making him sigh.

After a while she commented, "I don't know if that counts as an _embarrassing_ memory."

"Embarrassingly pathetic, maybe."

"You're not."

"And you're a bit biased."

Rachel rolled her eyes and drew spirals over the material of his shirt, absently.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while. The engineer half-heartedly cast around for a new subject, but she was too comfortable. Finally something about the fabric under her fingers sparked a thought and she chuckled.

"What?" asked the doctor.

"I think our sub consciousness must have been pretty sick of our mutual pining."

"Why do you say that?"

"Would you say this is your favorite sleep shirt? Or at least the one you use most often?"

"Yeah, probably."

"And I'm wearing my favorite too. Well, did you notice the colors of the cords in our bond?"

"Yeah. Red and blue."

"Exactly. Engineer red for me and medical blue for you."

"So?"

Rachel plucked at first his shirt and then her own. Bones glanced down and realized that he was wearing faded red, while she wore a soft blue color.

"Oh, for pete's sake!" he snorted as Rachel laughed.

After several more hours, Rachel mentioned that she needed to head back to her apartment. When the doctor's automatic response was to tighten his grip on her, she soothed him, saying that she just needed to get a few changes of clothes. With their bond so new and raw the idea wasn't pleasant to either of them. But after a while, Bones relaxed his grip and they both got up. The engineer stretched her arms over her head and leaned back and forth, groaning as her spine crackled. Her soulmate got caught up in watching her lythe movements until she punched him lightly in the arm for staring.

With one last, blazing kiss, Rachel slipped out and trotted down the hallway. Bones sighed and decided to go take a shower to distract himself.

Rachel, still barefoot, crept through the ship avoiding anyone she came across. She didn't want to have to explain why she was wandering around in her PJs. She was almost to her corridor and already breathing a sigh of relief when she stopped suddenly at the sound of a voice.

"Rachel? Are you in there? Rache?"

Peeking around the corner she saw Jim in front of her door, knocking and calling for her.

_Shit!_ She mouthed silently to herself. She wasn't sure if this counted as losing the bet. Technically, Jim hadn't come looking for her at Bones' place. And he clearly didn't suspect what'd happened between her and the doctor. But he _had_ gone looking for her. Did that count?

She chewed on her bottom lip as Jim knocked and called for her a few more times. Then she heard him huff in irritation and turn to leave. She froze, listening hard. But his footsteps headed off in the opposite direction. She sighed in relief. Quietly she checked around the corner, then bolted for her door and locked it behind her once she was in.

As she collected several sets of clothes, a book she'd been reading, and a few toiletries she debated with herself. Did hiding from Jim count as cheating?

_I mean, it's not like I actively avoided him. _ She tried to convince herself. _I just...stopped to rest for a few minutes. Nothing wrong with that… Right?_

By the time she was ready to go, she'd decided not to mention it to Bones...for the time being.

Her return trip was much easier and she snuck back into the doctor's quarters with no one the wiser. Upon her return she almost ran straight into Bones who stood near the door with his hair still wet from his shower. He immediately pulled her onto his arms and would not release her from his embrace for quite a while. Not that Rachel was complaining.

"Sorry." he eventually muttered, loosening his grip at last, only noticing now that her feet had been dangling an inch or so above the floor as he held her.

Rachel chuckled.

"Don't be."

Leonard ran a hand through his damp hair.

"Our bond is so sensitive. I felt it as soon as you left."

"Me too." Rachel groaned and pressed her face into her soulmate's chest. "If we're this bad after less than half an hour apart, how will we survive when we have to get back to work?" Rachel grumbled.

"That's why we're given a mandatory 72 hours on our own," Bones mumbled, his lips in her hair. "By then it should be more bearable." He chuckled as Rachel snorted dubiously.

The engineer finally pulled away and picked up her things that she'd dropped during his enthusiastic welcome.

"I hope you left me some hot water," she called over her shoulder as she headed for the bathroom.

Leonard blushed and went to fetch her a towel. Afterwards he glanced around for something to do and his eyes fell on his PADD. When Rachel came out again twenty minutes later, wearing soft pants and an oversized sweater, she caught Leonard engrossed in paperwork.

"Oi! No working!" she chided, making a swipe for the PADD. "We're supposed to be off duty!"

"I was just reading some reports!" he laughed, holding the device out of reach.

Rachel leaned over the back of the couch, trying to grab it.

"No excuses!" she cried, then squeaked as she tumbled over the couch and onto Leonard's lap. A short wrestling match ensued that eventually devolved into a tickle fight.

"Fine, fine! You win! _Uncle!_" she gasped, trying in vain to protect her sensitive sides.

Bones released her and watched her scramble into a more dignified, vertical position once more.

"A kiss to the winner, love?" he asked.

"Cheeky," she snorted, but gave him what he asked for anyway.

Still panting a bit, the engineer picked up the hairbrush she'd dropped in the scuffle. To her surprise Bones took it from her.

"C'mere," he said, gesturing to the ground between his feet.

She raised an eyebrow at him, but did as he asked. Once she was sitting with her back against the couch Bones started to comb the knots out of her still wet hair. He'd turned on some instrumental music while she'd been gone and the sound of a piano wove itself around them both.

They stayed that way for quite a long time. Even after the snarls had all been worked out he continued to run the brush through her hair. It wasn't until he heard her give a faint sniff that he stopped. Leaning forward, he was startled to see tears running down his soulmate's cheeks.

"Rache? What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed. He dropped the brush and placed his hands on her shoulders, automatically scanning her for injuries, but stopped when she finally got the breath to explain.

"N-nothing's wrong. Ignore me. I'm just being weird, as usual."

"I'm not arguing with that last bit." She sent him a half-hearted glare. "But that doesn't mean it's stupid or anything. Tell me, please?"

Rachel sighed.

"It's nothing bad. I promise. I just…" She rubbed her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater as she hesitated. "Everyone has a picture in their head, of one sort or another, about what their...'happily ever after' will look like. Or at least of where they want to get in life. There's lots of things I hope for in my future, but… Ever since I was a teen I've had this one image in my head… It's the one I always seem to come back to. I pictured myself sitting just as we are now. Me with my hair wet while my soulmate brushed it. The background would change. Sometimes we'd be sitting in front of a crackling wood fireplace while the soothing sound of rain came from outside. Sometimes we were somewhere else. But it always included this peaceful, love-filled moment of perfect contentedness. No one's brushed my hair for me since I was a little girl. And picturing that intimate moment with my unknown soulmate… I just couldn't picture it getting any better than that. And here...here we are...an' I...I just-"

But Leonard's lips on hers stopped anymore self-conscious remarks. Only after she'd been thoroughly snogged did he pull back to examine her dazed face.

"I love you," he whispered.

Rachel blinked slowly, then gradually grinned up at him.

"Really? I couldn't tell," she snarked.

Smirking, he pressed another soft kiss to her lips before gently turning her head around once more. He continued with his administrations for a while longer, both lost in thought. Eventually he braided her hair in a style she'd taught him to do for Joanna.

For the next few hours they ate dinner, played a few rounds of checkers (until Rachel got tired of losing), and just read comfortably side-by-side on the couch.

When it was time for bed there was a moment of awkwardness once they'd made it into Leonard's room.

"I..uh… I can take the couch if you…" Bones gallantly offered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Now none of that," said Rachel, taking his hand, though she was blushing too. "This is _your _cabin after all, and we _did_ share a bed last night. By the way, did you sleep at all?"

"Not a wink."

"You _idiot._"

And with that Rachel pulled him forward until Bones found himself being tucked into his own bed, covers tugged neatly around him and everything. Once she was done, Rachel didn't really seem to know what to do with herself and knelt there awkwardly for a few moments. Then Leonard managed to get his arms free from her mummification and guided her down beside him, pulling the blankets over her as well. In the end they wound up tangled together, Bones spooning Rachel from behind, their fingers entwined over her stomach.


	9. Epilogue: Part 2

**EPILOGUE PART 2**

Bones blinked slowly as he woke. His arms were empty and he spent a moment wondering why that concerned him so much. Then the previous 30 hours came flooding back to him and he nearly jumped out of bed, but a small hum from behind him made him pause. Looking down, he realized that a set of arms were wrapped around his waist and that he could feel someone else's legs tangled with his. Glancing over his shoulder he realized with a smile that sometime in the night their positions had switched. He was now the little spoon and Rachel was behind him with her cheek resting against his shoulder as she breathed softly. His chuckle woke her and she yawned and stretched. Meeting his gaze she grinned and tightened her hold on him.

"Good morning, handsome."

He twisted in her arms until he could face her.

"Hello, darlin'. Sleep well?"

"Mm-hmm," she mumbled, closing her eyes as he kissed her on the nose. Cuddling closer she tucked her head under his chin and they rested that way for a while longer. Neither felt any need to talk as they lay there, letting their minds slog slowly to full awakeness.

Finally Leonard bribed Rachel to get up with the promise of food.

Once they'd eaten and got dressed they sat down at the kitchen table to plan.

"Amber and Joanna," Leonard stated, addressing the elephant in the room.

"Yeah. It's time to talk about that I guess." said Rachel.

Bones took her hand in his and played with her fingers as he thought.

"You know, on the upside, I don't think I'll have to pay Amber alimony anymore."  
"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure that a second soulmate means that any legal ties I had with a previous partner are null and void. Though I'm sure I'll still be paying child support. Not that I'd **want** to get out of that. If I'd simply remarried Amber probably could've contested it. But since our bond was officially confirmed by a reliable telepath we should be safe."

"Did you just compliment Spock?"

"Yeah, yeah-"

"_**The world really must be ending!**_" Rachel cried dramatically, then dodged the banana peel thrown at her.

"All right," Bones sighed. "I'll get at least _part_ of it over with right now."

Taking up his PADD, he opened the notarized form that Spock had sent to his email. He forwarded it to Amber with a (very) brief note of explanation. Doing the math in his head, he decided that Joanna would still be in school for another few hours. Hopefully he could arrange to talk to her soon afterwards before Amber told her too much.

"Done," he said.

"What's next?" asked Rachel, as she put away the last few dishes.

"Now we have a call to make. C'mon."

He led her to the front room as he explained.

Luckily they were close enough to Earth that they could video-call the judge in charge of his divorce and child custody agreements directly. The man seemed surprised to see Leonard, but listened carefully as the doctor introduced Rachel and explained what'd happened. To their surprise, the judge seemed genuinely excited as he congratulated them.

"I'm so happy for you, doctor! If anyone deserves a second soulmate it's you!"

"_Huh?_" Bones was nonplussed. After all, this was the same man that'd granted nearly all of Amber's ridiculous requests and swallowed all of her lies about him.

"Over the years, I've come to doubt the validity of some of your ex-wife's claims. It doesn't help that she'd rather unpleasant to deal with…"

"No arguments here," Bones grumbled.

The man nodded. "Exactly. I wasn't able to do much without enough evidence for a full inquiry, but it's never sat well with me."

"Uh, that's okay. I mostly wanted to get your permission to make an unscheduled video-call to Joanna today to tell her the news."

"Oh, of course! I'll authorize that right away." And the man indeed began to type away on a seperate PADD as he continued to talk. "Aaaaaaaand...there! That's done. Now, hang on a sec… I want to look something up here." After a moment of searching he grunted in satisfaction and started speed-reading through a document he'd pulled up.

"Now, it says here that when a second soulmate is found and the initial partner of at least one participant is still alive...blah blah… Huh, it's such a rare event that I don't think these laws have been updated or touched for a few hundred years. But they'll work in your favor, so there's nothing to worry about. Anyway, any future alimony payments to the previous partner will be absolved immediately. You'll have no further financial obligations to her. And let me see about… Yes, here! It says that in the event a second soulmate is confirmed and that a child was born from the first union of one of the participants, any existing legal agreements in regards to child visitation, child support, etc. will be absolved and completely reinvestigated."

The man looked up, beaming at Bones.

The doctor stared at him in shock, unable to process.

"Don't worry, my friend." The judge winked at him. "This time around I intend to make very sure that the arrangements will be much fairer to all parties. It helps that you're in the employ of such a notable command as Starfleet. And chief medical officer to boot! Are you also a Starfleet officer, my dear?"

"Uh, yeah. Lieutenant Commander stationed under Head Engineer Montgomery Scott," she said, glancing between the judge and the water shining in the corner of Leonard's eyes.

"Congratulations! That'll help as well. Oh, and since little Joanna is..uh, let me see..._twelve_ years old now? Yes, twelve. Her choices and preferences will be taken into account when the new agreements are drawn up."

Leonard's eyes had spilled over and a large lump prevented anything more than a small squeak to emerge. He relied on Rachel to convey his thanks and delight to the judge. The man nodded understandingly, still grinning.

After thanking the man one last time, they ended the call. As soon as the screen went blank, Bones buried his face in his soulmate's shoulder and sniffled unashamedly. He felt her own tears leak into his hair as she held him tightly.

"I didn't expect… I hadn't even thought about-"

"I know." Rachel carded her fingers through his hair as he slowly settled down.

Once he did, they headed back to the kitchen for a bracing cup of tea. After they had their mugs in front of them, they turned to the next matter at hand.

"Joanna," stated Bones. "She gets out of school in an hour or so."

Rachel sighed, tracing the rim of her mug with an index finger.

"How much do we tell her?"

It took them a while, but eventually they agreed that at least for the time being, they wouldn't tell Joanna about her mother faking the bond with Leonard. It was a can of worms they could revisit sometime in the future if it became necessary. And they didn't want this day to be clouded with bad news.

"Do you think she'll be…"

"Be what?"

Rachel swallowed.

"Disappointed? Not even about me, but just the fact that her dad has a new 'girlfriend'? Don't kids normally get upset about that kind of thing?"

Bones wanted to roll his eyes, but restrained himself as he took one of her hands in his.

"I'm not worried about it. You and Joanna already get along really well. I'm more concerned about the two of you ganging up on me!"

Rachel chuckled and gave him a grateful smile.

As soon as the time came when they were sure Joanna would be home from school they placed the call. Rachel stood off to one side at first, out of the camera's line of sight, as a very confused Joanna appeared.

"Hey, short stuff," Leonard greeted her with a smile.

"_Dad!_ Hey! What's up? I thought you didn't get to call for another few weeks. Not that I'm not glad to see you!" She leaned forward to kiss the camera, making her dad chuckle. "But won't you get in trouble?"

"Nah." Bones shook his head. "I got permission."

"Permission? Why?" Joanna looked over her shoulder. "Does it have anything to do with mom?" she asked.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly anxious.

"I don't know. I got home from school just a few minutes ago and she was in the kitchen. She's been… Well, she's been cussing up a storm and slamming things around. But she won't tell me what she's mad about."

"Are you all right, honey? Did she yell or do anything to you?" Bones looked angry.

Joanna shook her head. "No. She barely even noticed I was there. I'm in my room now. It's not like it's the first time she's thrown a hissy-fit."

The doctor rubbed his eyes.

"You should be more respectful when talking about your mom," he said grudgingly.

Joanna just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. So what's going on?"

"Well...uh… Something… I mean, someone… Err...I-"

Rachel took pity on the poor man and stepped forward until she could be seen on screen.

"Rachel!"

"Hi, girly!" said the engineer, waving back. "How've you been?"

"Great! I've missed you! Uhh… What's wrong with dad? Did he swallow his tongue or somethin'?"

"In a manner of speaking, maybe." Rachel laughed, glancing back at the tongue-tied Bones. "We actually _both_ have something to tell you."

"Is it the same something or different somethings?" the girl asked.

"The same. Err, a day or so ago I...uhh...got my Pull."

"What?! That's awesome! Who was it?"

"Um… You see… It was-"

Rachel felt Leonard take her hand and instinctually met his gaze with a smile. When she glanced up again she saw Joanna looking back and forth between the two of them. After a few passes her eyes started to get wider and wider. Her mouth fell open and she started pointing back and forth between her dad and the engineer.

"_You!_ You and _**dad!**_ The two of you! You got _Pulled _to…"

Then she gave out a shriek that nearly deafened the two adults and jumped from her chair. At first, Rachel was concerned as the girl disappeared from sight. But soon she was back, fist-pumping and dancing around her room as she continued to squeal.

"YES! _YES! _ _**YES!**_" she cried, beginning to jump up and down on her bed.

Rachel laughed in relief as Leonard muttered a half-hearted "No jumping on the bed, ya monkey." that she was sure the girl didn't hear.

"I take it you're okay with it then-"

"**DUH!**" Joanna leaped down from the bed and leaned in close to the camera again. "I can't believe this! This is _awesome_! Tell me! Tell me! What happened? What was the Pull? What did dad say? What did you say? When did-"

"Woah! Woah! Slow down, darlin'!" cried Bones, laughing. "Sit down and we'll tell you."

Both women followed his directions. Joanna picking up the chair she'd knocked over and Rachel taking a seat on Leonard's lap. For nearly half an hour they answered the pre-teen's unending questions. Joanna cooed over how romantic it all was until her father blushed. The girl had a big imagination and kept coming up with more things to ask. It took Bones a long time to calm her down enough to talk about the legal changes this would bring about.

"They're gonna reinvestigate everything and draw up new agreements. So, hopefully, we'll be able to see each other a lot more."

Joanna gaped at him, and then her eyes got shiny as she hugged the camera.

"I've never wished so much that I could reach through this screen and hug you to death!" she wailed.

"Maybe not to _death_." Bones teased as she sat back, wiping her eyes.

"You know what I mean. I'm soooo soooo **soooo** happy! Thank you so much, Rachel!"

The engineer laughed.

"I didn't do anything, sweetheart. _I'm_ the one who's a winner here."

Joanna chuckled, then stopped suddenly as she was hit with a new thought. Her smile faded and she frowned.

"What's wrong?" asked Bones, leaning forward instinctually.

"It's just… I'm happy, but...also a little disappointed." She didn't seem to notice the adults' stricken faces. "I mean, we can't tell anyone about what mom did now, can we? Cuz if we did then they might not count this as a true 'second' soulmate. An' then they might not change the visiting rules. So now we'll have to keep that secret forever. Or at least until I'm eighteen. That sucks!"

Bones glanced at Rachel in confusion, but she was just as lost.

"Darlin', what are you talkin' about?"

Joanna finally looked at the camera once more.

"Mom faking her Pull. We can't tell on her now, can we?"

Both Leonard and Rachel's mouths fell open in shock.

"Wh-wh-what?" the doctor sputtered. "How did you-? When did you find-?"

Joanna rolled her eyes at the two of them.

"I found out a year or so ago. Mom doesn't have much of a filter when she's drunk. She came home from a birthday party she had with a bunch of friends and she pretty much babbled about a ton of stuff for the rest of the night. Some of it was garbage, but I picked out a few things she said and it started to make sense."

"Yer...a lot smarter than I gave you credit for. Why...why didn't you say anything?" Bones asked, looking guilty.

The girl shrugged one shoulder.

"I didn't want to bring it up. Figured it'd hurt you. I _did_ talk to my friend Chealsey. Her mom's a lawyer. And she said that if someone lied about a Pull, then they could get in a lot of trouble. So I was tryin' to think of a way to prove it so that we could maybe get more video-calls or something."

Leonard shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry I had to lie to you, darlin'," he apologized, but Joanna waved it off.

"I know why you did. I'm not mad about it or anything. But anyway, you have a _**real **_soulmate now! And it's _**RACHEL!**_" she squealed.

She launched into another wave of questions about what'd happened and everything Rachel had ever thought or felt about her dad.

Bones sat back, smiling and rolling his eyes at the two women. He knew sooner or later he'd have to deal with them teaming up on him, but he couldn't find the will to care.

"Wait a minute!" Joanna finally cried in the middle of the discussion. "What am I gonna call you now?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, my mom is already '_mom_'. So what am I gonna call you?"

"Oh," Rachel shrugged. "You can just keep calling me Rachel. That's fine."

But Joanna sat up and snapped her hand back and forth.

"_Nah-uh-uh!_ We can do better than that! Let's think… Mama Rache? Mummy? Nah, not that one. Mamma R? No, too boring. Mumzy?"

Leonard laughed as Rachel wrinkled her nose.

"Not a big fan of that one," she admitted. "Let's see… 'Madre' is Italian. 'Mutter' is German…"

The girls threw ideas back and forth for a while. Their final list included:

Madre (Italian)

Maman (French)

Mutter (German)

Matka (Polish/Czech)

Mama R

Mama Rache

Mummy

Mommy

Mumzy

Mom 2

Mom squared

Mother

Ma

Maw

Dad's other girl

Dad's "_really"_ good friend

Moo Moo

Muse

Mammy

M&M (for "my mom")

MyMom/Meimom

Their top choices were "Matka" and "M&M" but soon they were giggling too much to take it seriously anymore.

"Let's think about it some more and come back to it later," Rachel said.

"Yeah, yer probably right," Joanna said, wiping her eyes.

After a little bit longer, the three of them made plans to meet up as soon as the Enterprise made its way back to Earth in just over three months time. They were just about to end the call when something else occurred to Joanna that made her bounce up and down and clap with excitement again.

"Now I won't be an only child anymore! Someday I can have a baby brother or sister to play with!"

Both adults choked and sputtered, faces tomato red. Rachel glanced at Bones and saw that he was gaping at his daughter. They must have looked ridiculous because Joanna cracked up again.

"Just think about it, okay?" she said, still giggling. "Love ya both! See ya!" And she hung up before either of them could think of a reply.

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

Rachel was the first to speak.

"Well...that went...surprisingly well."

They both chuckled and the tension diffused. Rachel stayed perched on Bones' lap, arms around each other for a while longer. Simply enjoying the quiet and thinking over everything that'd happend in the last two days.

It was the doctor that broke the silence this time as he cleared his throat.

"You really _will_ make a great mom. Both for Joanna and…well… Any others that we might…"

Rachel blushed, burying her face in his neck.

"I love Joanna already. She's a great kid, thanks in part to having such a great dad." She kissed the top of his head as he chuckled. "And as for any _more_…" She cleared her throat. "I'd love to have kids of my own someday. I always have. And seeing you with Joanna…" She pulled back to look him in the face. "She's the best part of your life. And I want to make you that happy again someday." It was her soulmate's turn to blush and she giggled at his expression. "Not for a while though. But someday…"

Bones nodded slowly, smiling to himself.

"_Someday._" he agreed.

A buzzing from the front door made them both jump. Their eyes met and twin grins spread over their faces.

"The moment of truth!" Rachel whispered excitedly, leaping from his lap and tip-toeing over to the door. They both mouthed a countdown as her hand hovered over the panel.

_Three. Two. One!_

She pressed the button and the door swished open.

There was a moment of silence. Then…

"**YEEEESSS!**" Rachel cried, dancing around in celebration as Bones groaned.

A very confused Scotty glanced back and forth between the both of them.

"Uh… It's good ter see that yer all right, lass. But I have a feelin' that I'm missin' something here."

Rachel laughed and pulled him into the room. Bones felt a twinge of instinctual protectiveness, but shook it off as his soulmate embraced her friend. It only took a few words to explain things to the Scotsman. His eyes got wide and he immediately swung Rachel up in another hug.

"I knew it! I **KNEW** it! Oh lass, I'm so happy fer ye!" he cried, turning to shake the doctor's hand. "An' _you_! Ya better take good care of her or me'n the whole engineerin' team will be on yer ass!"

Bones rolled his eyes.

"Who's gonna protect me from _her_?" he grumbled half-heartedly as the others laughed.

Scotty turned back to his second in command and she was halfway through explaining what'd happend in more detail when they heard a strangled noise from behind them.

In all the babble, no one had noticed the figure that appeared in the still open doorway. They all turned to see a gobsmacked Jim, his mouth hanging as wide open as it could go, pointing back and forth between Bones and Rachel, looking so much like Joanna that the engineer burst out laughing once again.

"_You!_ And _**you!**_ You're-!"

Bones sighed exasperatedly.

"Ya couldn't have come five minutes earlier?" he complained as he pulled his friend into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Nearly an hour later the four of them were sitting around the living room, having drinks and laughing at the absurdity of it all. Rachel and Jim had taken the couch while the other two men took the chairs. Bones wasn't too happy with sitting apart from Rachel, but tamped it down as he knew it was just his new bond acting up.

"So," said Jim at one point, leaning towards Rachel with a smirk. "Sleepwalking, eh? You'd better be careful about that, now that you have a real boyfriend. No telling who's cabin you'll wander into in the future-" He stopped, laughing as Rachel smacked him in the face with a couch cushion.

Bones bristled internally, but calmed himself down and smirked back at the captain.

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge her for sleepwalking, Jim. I've got tons of dirt on you with all the things you've said in your sleep while we were at the academy."

"Ooooooh!" cried Rachel in delight while Jim went pale. "Jimmy _sleep-talks!_ **Spill!**"

"Well," Bones caught the cushion that Jim threw at him and continued. "There was one time when I pulled an all-nighter for a test and I heard Jim say something along the lines of, 'Save the cats! They're too _fluffy_ to die!'" Rachel cracked up, flopping back in her seat. Bones grinned. "But that wasn't all! After a pause of a minute or so he said, '_Fiiiine_. Save the people too, _I guess_.'"

The captain grimaced as Rachel and Scotty crowed and slapped him on the back. Bones smirked at him evilly as Jim quickly changed the subject.

A while later as the two men were starting to get ready to leave, Jim's eyes widened suddenly as a new thought hit him.

"_Ooh! Ooh!_" Jim cried. "I'm saying it now before anyone else does! I call being the best man! **Boom!**"

He looked very proud of himself until a blushing Rachel gibbs-slapped him on the back of the head.

"Shut up, you ding-bat." she reprimanded as her cousin rubbed his head. "An idiot's mind 'jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.'* We just got Pulled! Don't go jumping too far ahead for your own ego's sake."

"Oi! _Rude!_" Jim complained, then dodged another playful smack.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him, but then immediately turned to Scotty.

"If Jim gets 'best man' you know what that makes you, right?"

"What?" Scotty asked, looking bewildered.

"_Maid of Honor!_" cried Rachel and Jim together.

The Scotsman turned as red as his hair while the others laughed.

But then he coughed and muttered, "Well, I'd be honored...when the time comes…"

Now it was the couple's turn to blush as a new round of teasing from Jim ensued.

Finally Jim and Scotty had to get back to their duties. They were gathered near the door for one last hug when Bones had a thought.

"I need to run down to the kitchen I guess," he said.

"What fer?" asked Scotty, giving Rachel a fatherly peck on the forehead.

Bones sighed dramatically.

"I owe Rache a home-cooked, Georgian dinner."

"Why?" Jim asked immediately, smelling a good story.

"I bet that you would be the first one to figure it out and find us, and Rache said Scotty would be the first."

"_Ah-ha!_" Scotty puffed out his chest proudly as he turned to his captain. "Well, there ya go, lad. I guess the 'maid of honor' was the '_best man' _in this case!" And he strutted away even as Jim called after him.

Grumbling, Jim turned back to give his cousin one last hug.

"Wait, what would Bones've got if he'd won?" he asked, pulling back.

"None of your beeswax!" snarked Rachel.

"_Oh!_ It was about _me_ then wasn't it?" Jim said smugly. Then complained loudly as Rachel mussed up his hair.

"It's not all about you, you egotistical maniac!" she complained. But then she glanced guiltily at the doctor. "But...you know… I may have _accidentally_ cheated a bit."

"What?!" Bones asked.

"Not on purpose! _._..exactly."

"What'd you do?" Jim asked eagerly.

Rachel shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"Well… When I went to get more clothes from my room...I may or may not have seen you knocking at my door. I didn't _avoid_ you exactly. But I _may_ have...waited for you to leave before going into my room." She looked at the two of them. "Does that count as cheating?"

"_Yes!"_ said Bones at the same time that Jim said, "No."

Rachel pretended to think hard about it, tapping her chin with a finger as she looked at her soulmate.

"If I call it a tie do I still get my dinner?"

"Maybe. But only if you pay up too!"

She thought about it for another minute. Then with a dramatic sigh, she rolled her eyes.

"_Fiiiiine."_

Striding up to Jim she clapped him on the shoulder and met his confused gaze.

"Now you listen and listen close, James Tiberius Kirk, cuz I'm only gonna say this once." She let a few dramatic beats of silence pass before taking a deep breath. "It was tomato juice." she deadpanned.

The captain looked in confusion between the two of them.

"Uhhhh….. What?"

"Bye now!" she said, shoving the captain out the door and shutting it with a swish.

The doctor crossed his arms and complained, "Hey! It doesn't count if he doesn't know what it-"

"Shhh!" hushed Rachel, gesturing for him to join her.

Frowning, Bones moved to press his ear to the door next to her.

They heard some shuffling as Jim stood outside the door for a few more moments, probably trying to figure out when his cousin had gone completely nuts. But eventually they heard him mutter to himself.

"'Tomato juice'? _*Pft* _Whatever, nerd."

Then they heard his footsteps as he strode off down the corridor.

Leonard looked at Rachel again, but she held up a finger, still listening hard.

The sound of Jim's footsteps had all but faded away when there came a sudden, muffled shout.

"**Hold up…! **_**TOMATO JUICE?! **_**DAMMIT, RACHE! THAT'S JUST WRONG!"**

*Quote from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice


End file.
